Rating 4/5
“The Apprentice”, directed by Ali Abbasi, offers a dramatic and intriguing portrayal of a young Donald Trump’s (Sebastian Stan) rise in 1970s New York real estate and explores his relationship with Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong), a controversial American lawyer and political fixer, known for his role as chief counsel to Senator Joseph McCarthy during the 1950s anti-communist investigations. The movie highlights Trump’s early struggles and nuanced relationship with Roy Cohn.
The movie depicts Trump’s gradual shift from a naive young adult to someone willing to compromise his integrity in pursuit of power and success, highlighting Cohn’s influence, and making viewers think about the dynamics of power and corruption.
Trump is initially hesitant to engage in illegal and risky behavior. He questions Cohn’s decisions to blackmail judges and pay off officials, but Trump soon gets behind the wheel as he becomes increasingly desperate to expand his real estate empire. For example, in one scene, Trump arranges an agreement to evict the tenants from a rent-controlled building, showcasing his transformation into someone who doesn’t care about putting profit over morals. This scene highlights the tension between Trump’s ambition and his conscience. Hence, this early section of the movie overemphasizes Cohn’s negative influence on Trump, underplaying Trump’s active decisions to partake in illegal activities. This may lead people to excuse Trump’s early actions as simply being derived from bad influences from Roy Cohn.
However, Stan does a great job portraying Trump, showing a lot of ambition in his facial expressions when talking about his real estate empire and being nonchalant when ignoring others.
At the movie’s beginning, it is painfully obvious how desperate Trump is to expand his empire. Stan makes eager gestures when talking to Cohn and almost emulates an attentive animal to show young Trump’s behavior.
While Trump is under Cohn’s manipulation, Stan’s portrayal of Trump becomes more imposing, embodying Trump’s growing confidence and moral deterioration.
Stan’s performance avoids stereotypes and instead captures Trump’s evolving persona through nuanced changes in his mannerisms as Trump slowly becomes more and more indifferent towards Cohn when Trump no longer needs him. Stan portrays this indifference by not looking directly at Cohn while talking and often ignoring Cohn’s messages altogether.
Strong also portrays Cohn very well, he exudes confidence at the beginning of the movie, dismissing concerns with a condescending attitude that shows his commanding presence and moral indifference. This contrasts starkly with his later portrayal of a weakened, frail Cohn. He shifts to a weaker personality when he starts to get sick, and portrays a sick Cohn by making his face more pale and emotionless; he even changes his voice to become monotonous.
The cinematography is extremely raw and gritty, often having grading and lines across the screen, giving the movie an 80’s aesthetic. Whenever the filmmakers were emulating news on a television set, they would have more lines across the screen to represent television sets in the 80’s. Like its plot, the movie did not try to make things pretty. It often has little exposure and a plethora of shadows to foster a dark atmosphere and parallel the dark themes the movie covers.
The director also uses close-up shots of Trump and Cohn’s faces to highlight their emotions in the current moment. These shots are often shot from low to high to represent that Trump is in a position of power.
Ultimately, “The Apprentice” doesn’t shy away from exposing the dark undercurrents of Trump’s rise, portraying his descent into corruption and cruelty under Roy Cohn’s teaching. This film is a must-watch for those curious about Trump’s ambitious and immoral rise as it challenges viewers to grapple with the consequences of unchecked power and influence.