As we near the US Presidential election, The Apprentice has attracted much controversy from one of the candidates. This early-days biopic of Donald Trump has been denounced by the 45th President, who sent a cease-and-desist letter causing the film to have trouble finding a distributor. But is it worth the fuss?
Starting in the early 1970s, it’s a fictionalised account of the mentor relationship between ruthless New York lawyer Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong) and young, aspiring billionaire Donald J Trump (Sebastian Stan). Wanting to revolutionise New York’s crumbling real estate sector to get out of his father’s shadow, the ambitious but inexperienced Trump is taken under Cohn’s wing. He teaches him the dirtiest tricks in business and politics, starting an ascent that would change the world.
Profiles of conservative political figures rarely please anyone in the political spectrum. The Right will dismiss any criticism as a hit job by liberal Hollywood, while the Left will see any shred of humanity as an endorsement. Oliver Stone’s W, Dick Cheney biopic Vice, and Thatcher portrait The Iron Lady were all polarising. In the case of The Apprentice, it’s Trump’s detractors who will likely take more from this salacious rise to power.
Embracing the dirty, boarded up avenues of 70s Manhattan, we follow the duo into underground parties, backdoor deals, and courtroom conniving. Director Ali Abbasi shows us a blueprint for the man we know today: someone unconcerned by morality or truth, only with winning at all costs. It’s a film that is more curious about the philosophy behind his success than the man behind it, although an abrupt rape scene (reportedly based on court testimony) acknowledges the dark side of this figure.
Stan grows his performance, impressively avoiding impersonation. Young Donald feels like the raw material of the man Trump would become. There’s an awkwardness to him as he tries to fit in Cohn’s circle, engages in small talk with Andy Warhol or becomes a wallflower at one of the lawyer’s debauched parties. As his reputation grows, so does the persona, his personality expanding just as Cohn shrinks away. Succession favourite Strong has the tougher task, playing the lesser-known figure.
One of the attack dogs of the McCarthy Communist witch hunt, Cohn was regarded by many as one of America’s great villains, and portrayed as such by Al Pacino in 2003 series Angels In America. Strong plays him like a Reagan era Sith Lord, sitting in the shadows and using his tricks to gain Trump’s favour. Maria Bakalova is also delightful as Ivana Trump, providing insight into her husband’s jealousy and misogyny.
• The Apprentice is out now
