THE APPRENTICE (2024) – Riveting but uncomplimentary take on Trump’s early days
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Coming in on the heels of the 2024 USA Elections is this biographical movie about Donald Trump in his formative years in becoming a successful real estate businessman in the 1970’s and 1980’s. With Donald Trump’s name dominating the news today in his quest to become the next President of the USA (again), this film’s arrival seems timely especially if you wish to get some insights of how Trump became who he is today.
How much of this appetite for more information about his private life is satisfied is subjective. This movie is by all means a riveting watch. It is just that one is not totally convinced that we can seriously take any of it as an authentic representation of the truth. At broad level the movie does provide a good background on how he got his first break into the real-estate business with the help of his attorney Roy Cohn. Roy seems to be instrumental in developing Trump’s business mindset as he mentors his newfound young “apprentice” with his ruthless and often unethical approach to getting his way. However, things begin to turn ugly from the midway point as Trump is seen to transform from a naive novice new at the game into some form of cruel, lying, heartless and selfish person by the end. The film makers seem adamant in painting Trump in poor light which leads me to think that there might be some sort of political motivation behind it.
On the plus side, though, The Apprentice is undeniably very well made. The performances were the film’s highlight. Sebastian Stan whom many of us will remember as Bucky Barnes in the Marvel Captain America and Avengers movies, plays a believable young Donald Trump nailing his trademark mannerism and characteristic gestures. But he is upstaged by Jeremy Strong (best known for his role as Kendall Roy in the TV series Succession) who gave a mesmerizing performance as the ruthless attorney who shapes a young impressionable Trump with many of the “win at all costs” attribute we see in Trump today. Strong’s slippery portrayal of Cohn is easily the best in the movie and worthy of recognition come awards season. Then there is Maria Bakalova as Trump’s first wife, Ivanka. Her character starts off looking very much 1-dimensional, only to metamorphose into someone far more complex as we see her get pursued, married, and eventually disillusioned.
Apart from the excellent cast, director Ali Abbasi has a creative sense of cinematography. He transports us to the 1970’s and 1980’s era by shooting the film with a heavily grainy analog video look and a boxy aspect ratio. This made the movie look intriguing and innovative at a technical level.
The Apprentice surprised me as it came across as a far better movie than it should have any right to be. For me, the movie worked best when approached as a story of the rise and character downfall of a businessman. I do not think it worked as well when viewed as a biography of Trump because it feels vindictive of his persona when we compare to the version of Trump that Trump supporters know today. It attempts to stay apolitical by not going further into his foray into politics and his eventual rise to the seat in the White House. There is enough material on Trump to make many more movies of his life. For all The Apprentice’s unflattering look at his early years, I feel a bit conflicted over the film but can’t deny that it was “great cinema”!