The Apprentice (2024)- BFI London Film Festival 2024

Review

122min

Genre:       Fact-based, Drama

Director:     Ali Abbasi

Cast:         Sebastian Stan, Jeremy Strong, Maria Bakalova…and more

Writers:     Gabriel Sherman

-Synopsis-

In the 1970s through the ’80s, a young Donald Trump’s star rises through New York real estate and beyond as his personality and life ethos is shaped by his close relationship with a questionable mentor—US government lawyer turned New York political “fixer” and attorney to the mob Roy Cohn—in this pulsating period biopic, meditation on American capitalism and portrait of a magnate turned cult figure and unlikely future world leader.

After making his name with bizarre Swedish romance and unsettling morality tale ‘Border’, and proving his bold streak by poking the Islamic Republic of Iran bear with tense true crime serial killer drama ‘Holy Spider’, Iranian-Danish director Ali Abbasi kicks the US hornet’s nest by daring to paint an unflattering yet representative and stylish cinematic exposé picture of one of the most divisive and incendiary figures in recent world history . . . with entertaining and eye-opening results.

Sebastian Stan stars as ambitious New York businessman Donald J. Trump, a coiffed young wheeler-dealer working the family landlord business while trying to escape the shadow of his domineering dad Fred (Martin Donovan), longing to make his mark on the city and take the family name to the top. All his prayers seem answered when he meets bullish and morally flexible high-powered lawyer Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong), as he makes the family’s legal problems disappear and takes Donald under his wing, turning him into a convert of the 3 rules of winning, as Trump takes Czech model Ivana Zelníčková (Maria Bakalova) off the dating market and commits to getting ahead at any cost, rising through the business world and NYC society but slowly losing touch with the people around him and his now beleaguered former mentor.

It’s a risky proposition for those involved to make a film about Donald Trump these days, whether it’s intended to mould a perception of the history which shaped him as a public figure for future generations, or a deliberate attempt to sway the undecided or unaffiliated voters who will likely determine the result of a historic election only a couple of weeks after its release. Needless to say ‘The Apprentice’ will be lauded or condemned in equal measure, by exactly the kind of people you might expect based on their political leanings, and regardless of whether or not they actually watch the film. And it’s fair to say that this is an unflattering portrayal by design, but considering the facts and realities of his story, even at a time when objective truth is hard to come by, it is not an unfair or unwarranted one by Abbasi and screenwriter Gabriel Sherman, and considering the skewered Hollywood slant from which it’s made, it’s surprisingly balanced and restrained.

What’s undeniable though is the style and energy credentials of ‘The Apprentice’, and its qualities as a classic “only in America” rise of a kingpin and American dream gone wrong story with clear shades of ‘Scarface’, as Abbasi creates not only a stylish portrait of a man but also the time in which climbs the corrupt American corporate ladder. Seductively re-creating a decaying yet funky 1970s mood with a bumping soundtrack of 70s soul, disco and funk, and a resurgent self-assured Reaganist 1980s with pulsating pop and dance tracks from the era. They’re combined with vivid visuals defined by top notch costume and production designs to resurrect the people and places who made the headlines, often staying faithful to their particularly styles . . . regardless of taste, all captured by Danish cinematographer Kasper Tuxen (Valhalla, The Worst Person in the World) in classic narrow academy ratio for full intimacy.

Abbasi and Sherman also make sure to establish their view of the political and socio-economic conditions of the time, from the economic lows of the late 70s Carter era into the free-market nationalistic boom of Reaganomics, not to mention the corruption and mismanagement in New York politics that opened the door for some to game the system and take city and the country for all it’s worth. Figures like abrasive, hedonistic self-declared patriotic anti-leftist and powerful unscrupulous truculent lawyer Roy Cohn—so spectacularly brought to life by a truly towering performance from the always intense and dedicated Jeremy Strong—a man determined to win at all costs with a “play the ball not the man” ethos, in the full contact sports that are business and politics.

It’s under his wing that the Donald Trump we’ve come to know is formed, led by the three rules of Cohn’s guide to winning which are well established by the film; Rule #1 attack! attack! attack!, Rule #2 admit nothing, deny everything, Rule #3 always claim victory, never admit defeat. A mantra and attitude adopted by the former president to this day, and yet now spread like a virus to become the cultural norm, just as likely seen in the left as the right, rich or poor, young or old, even though ironically most can never be “winners”. The result is the slow death of reason, objective truth, and selflessness, as societal progress stalls with the spread of delusion and misplaced self-belief. And for the few to win, most of us will have to lose . . . one way or another.

Much of the burden for the film’s success will fall on the shoulders of the apprentice in question and the actor who plays him, and luckily Sebastian Stan is not only on form but judges his performance well by largely keeping clear of parody and impersonation, although some of the Trump hallmarks are there. Instead he skilfully plays the man not the caricature, opting for a gradual evolution and transformation into the figure we’ve come to recognise, as his confidence and experience grow and the bloated ego follows in the monster Roy Cohn helped to create but couldn’t control, with MCU star Stan shining and underlining his dedication to daring roles as he steps out of the shadow of Bucky Barnes.

Despite all its merits though ‘The Apprentice’ is not the most polished or memorable biopic you’ll see, and it only skims the surface of the complex and troubled Trump family history, yet it’s an undeniably entertaining and captivating one nonetheless. Only time and an imminent election plus its aftermath will tell what impact, if any, it has on the ongoing Trump saga, a quintessentially American capitalist parable true story that’s hypnotised the most powerful country in the world and global media for nearly a decade. But as far as dramatizations of the man who would become arguably the most divisive yet significant figure in 21^st century history thus far, this is by far the best to date.

The Bottom Line…

An “only in America” pulsating period biopic with its mind on the present and an eye on the future, mixed with a flashy meditation on capitalism and stylish exposé portrait of a magnate turned cult figure and unlikely future world leader, ‘The Apprentice’ overcomes any substantive shortcomings through the force of its energy and the performances of its two central stars—as Ali Abbasi underlines his daring streak and growing reputation as a filmmaker to tell the captivating origin story of one of the most polarising and influential figures of this century.

‘The Apprentice’ is out now in UK and US cinemas.

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