Ali Abbasi’s The Apprentice is a biopic depicting the early career and rise of Donlad Trump and his friendship with Roy Cohn. Released a month before Trump’s third election, it feels destined to inflame expectations on both sides of the aisle. The Apprentice starts in the ’70s with Trump ( Sebastian Stan ) going door to door to collect rent in his father’s slum.
When he joins a club and meets the ruthless Roy Cohn ( Jeremy Strong ), they form a friendship that sees Trump learning everything he can from Cohn and climbing his way to tycoon status. It also charts the ups and downs of his relationships with his first wife Ivana (Maria Bakalova), his alcoholic brother Fred (Charlie Carrick) and his steely father (Martin Donovan). To expect a flattering portrayal of Donald Trump is perhaps too much, but The Apprentice is a surprisingly sympathetic affair despite some cheap shots and playing fast-and-loose with unflattering interpretations of events.
The first half of the film is actually outright decent to him, showing him as someone seeking the fatherly approval he can’t get at home from the intimidating, underhanded Cohn. As his business takes off thanks to Cohn’s tactical cunning, he becomes increasingly egotistical and removed from any sense of personal decency. Whatever misgivings you have about the truthfulness of the film, it’s impossible not to be wowed by Sebastian Stan’s performance.
Not only does he look uncannily like Trump, he modulates his manners to g.
