The Apprentice: Movie Review

Cast: Sebastian Stan, Jeremy Strong, Maria Bakalova
Director: Ali Abbasi

The Apprentice wants to be an excoriating profile of a man, but when it's one so many people already deeply detest and have seen so publicly, it proves difficult for a biopic like this to present something new.

Fortunately director Ali Abbasi (Border, Holy Spider) and writer Gabriel Sherman focus more on the origin of the Donald Trump character that polarises so many these days. That means zeroing in on the 1970s when Trump had just become a billionaire and was obsessed with creating Trump Tower in downtown New York.

Unable to overcome local bureaucracy and also local law interest in his dealings, Trump (played relatively straight by Sebastian Stan) ends up turning to Roy Cohn (a menacing Strong, all piercing stares and stony-face) after a chance meeting in a club.

Woefully naive and groomed by Cohn to always attack, never admit defeat or the truth, Trump begins to transform his fortunes, as Cohn helps manipulate matters from the shadows, using blackmail to overcome any obstacles.

The first hour of The Apprentice is utterly horrifying stuff - as you realise where Trump got his unswerving addiction to his truth alone, Abbasi uses shaky-cam doco grainy 70s film stylings to horrify and appal.

But in truth, it's Cohn who emerges as the most viciously unlikeable character here, with an utterly unlikeable performance from Strong, whose deadpan veneer is just terrifying. Watching him mentor Trump and mould him into what he became makes for compelling viewing - even if it is only surface-level stuff.

A second half timejump sees the movie move into 1980s territory and with it, a clever switching around of the dynamic as the man once in Cohn's thrall moves out of his shadow to create his own legacy, and make moves on his eventual wife Ivana (Bakalova, sympathetic and strong).

But it's also the film's weakest move as confining Strong's Cohn to the sidelines reveals the weakness of the narrative - and parts of the movie sag as they gloss over moments in Trump's life - from the sexual assault on Ivana to his part in his brother's death, the simpler approach belies what's been built up.

Perhaps it's a case of Trump ennui, in that we already know and abhor the character from his public life and his Presidential time and future tilt - yet it's also indicative of how the second half brings nothing new to the table and betrays the great work of the first hour.

Ultimately, The Apprentice is a film of two halves, a condemnation of ambition and narcissism; but it could have been more - and despite Stan's solid performance and Strong's glassy commitment, it still feels like it's squandered some of its chance.