The Apprentice

I first heard the name "Donald Trump" while watching an episode of Inside the NFL in the mid 1980s.  At the time he was the owner of the New Jersey Generals in the USFL.  From there on he became synonymous with monstrous egotism, litigation, and adultery.  I remember seeing him on Letterman with the oversized model airplane.  The release of his book The Art of the Deal.  For over forty years Trump has managed to keep his publicity train roaring in one way or another.  He even had cameo appearances in HOME ALONE 3 and the less than critically acclaimed Bo Derek vehicle BOLERO.  No publicity is bad publicity, as they say. 

Trump has dismissed 2024's THE APPRENTICE, and even had his legal team try to squash it.  It was unsurprisingly not produced in Hollywood.  A "business risk" many called it.  Iranian-Danish director Ali Abbasi helms this biopic, which examines Trump's gradual transformation in the 1970s and '80s from unsure trust fund baby to calculating, devil-may-care businessman.  You might say he became Darth Vader.  That would assume  underneath the unrepentant brio and tailored suits is a beating heart. For many, that would be subject for debate. 

Sebastian Shaw captures the essence of Trump rather than trying for any letter perfect portrayal.  At times his delivery of speech echos those off-putting enunciations we've all heard too often.  I feel his performance ran a certain gamut: from awkward to dead on.   We never forget an actor is playing this damn near ubiquitous public figure, who at the time of this posting has been in his second (non-consecutive) term as POTUS for one hundred days.  A uh, rather eventful hundred days. 

The film's title references Trump's reality show from years back, but also perfectly describes the future prez's relations with attorney Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong), who would serve as a toxic mentor. The lawyer's golden mantra - "Always attack. Never admit wrongdoing. Always claim victory, even when defeated."  Cohn is usually more concerned who the judge is than the law itself.  He will use blackmail to win cases.  The student/apprentice is wide eyed and will soon surpass his teacher in dishonesty and hard heartedness.  They will essentially trade places by the time Cohn has his birthday party at Mar-a-Lago.

Strong positively nails the role, by the way.

THE APPRENTICE tells a sad, familiar tale.  The creation of a monster.  The selling of one's soul.  The search for a father figure.  Trump's own papa, Fred (Martin Donovan) is not sufficiently covered here.  Not enough is depicted to give us a real sense of how insufficient a daddy he was.  Abbasi's direction is fair, sometimes hesitant.   Definitely competent.  Gabriel Sherman's screenplay is unremarkable, like a Wikipedia page.  Sometimes it feels as if created by ChatGPT.  The subplot involving Donald's brother Fred Jr. (Charlie Carrick) is sloppily handled and could've easily been excised.  There are those increasingly common (and irritating) lines of dialog in historical films where characters speculate about/predict future events, that, how about that, came true. 

Kasper Tuxen's photography mimics '70s grain and later '80s video.  There is inherent interest in the subject, especially these days.  It's an agreeable effort that might've been extraordinary in more experienced (and/or distinguished) hands.