February 12, 2025

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Chaotic But Mesmerising — The Apprentice (London Film Festival Review)

Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong in The Apprentice

Image: © Studiocanal

The Apprentice is a movie that suffers from having an identity complex. It is equal parts a buddy movie, a treatise on the American dream, a David vs. Goliath, and a love story. Sometimes, it is all of these things at the same time. It is also oddly mesmerising.

On its surface, it tells a tale of two men in the big city. One, a young Donald J. Trump () and the other, the serpent-like Roy Cohn (). Starting in 1973, these two men meet on a night out at the same bar. Somehow, Trump doesn't recognise Cohn, a man by then famous from his McCarthy years and now a top lawyer. Cohn's got a celebrity status that the young Trump already worships.

Cohn takes to the young and supposedly handsome Trump quickly, who is eager to get out from his father's shadow. It's only a matter of time before Trump asks Cohn to represent him. The NAACP is suing his father Fred Trump (played by an excellent Martin Donovan) for unfair housing practices. Donald wants to prove to Fred that he can handle the family business. His reasoning is that if he's successful with this legal battle, he could turn around the run-down Commodore, and make his name in real estate.

Fred outright dismisses Cohn at first, but Donald remains set. By then Roy has told him his three keys to success, which Donald imprints in his mind. In all fairness, many of these points are good pieces of advice, such as “create your own reality”. It has the effect of making the viewer feel almost rah-rah-rah into being successful. At times, the movie is unintentionally funny during these scenes.

By the time 1977 has rolled around, Trump has “arrived”. He's now one of the movers and shakers he so desperately desired to be. The Commodore has been turned into a Hyatt and he's met Ivana (Maria Bakalova). Ivana is the comic foil in this movie, complete with her own bouncy disco soundtrack. She's not letting any of these guys push her around, even Cohn, who advises Donald to sign a prenup. There's an element of ‘girl-power' about her, a woman certain of herself and her future. Cohn and Trump are now equals.

It's the last act, taking place between 1983-1986, that collapses like a half-baked souffle. Here it becomes more reminiscent of a knock-off Scarface, without the drugs but all of the power-hungry, neon-soaked, gold lamé sex-filled 1980's. Yes, there are multiple sex scenes with Donald, ranging from bad to terrible. Donald, now addicted to amphetamines, is a shark with no empathy towards his friends or family. He dismisses Cohn's, actually valid, advice. Somehow, in this section, Cohn is the one who is portrayed as having any sort of decency.

Timing-wise the movie drags on about 10 minutes too long. There is a surreal scene involving plastic surgery and the national anthem. A viewer might ponder how the director Ali Abbasi was trying to relate the two, because it certainly comes out of nowhere.

Even with all of its foibles, the audience remained rapt with attention throughout the showing. Most likely, even with its inherent choppiness, people will flock to see it. Sebastian Stan has many of the Trump mannerisms down, and does a good job of portraying him in his unpolished youth. Jeremy Strong struggles a bit in making his Cohn come across as three-dimensional until the last act, he's almost too “on” in the first part of the movie. But he is far, far better when he has more material to work with.

As for Trump liking it, as Cohn states in the movie, “never admit defeat”.

The Apprentice will screen as part of London Film Festival 2024, and releases in cinemas on October 18.