Review: ‘The Apprentice’ begs the question is real-life drama more interesting than what a biopic can offer?

It was going to take a lot of work making a Donald Trump movie that pleases everybody. Right out of the gate, some people were simply not going to like a film that gives more conversation time to one the most ubiquitous and controversial public figures of modern times. 

It felt like a lose/lose situation for director Ali Abassi whose latest film The Apprentice is a biographical drama about the property mogul and former president Donald Trump. If Abassi played it too safe then what’s the point? But also, given Trump’s fervent fanbase and the fact that this is an election year where Trump is seeking re-election. If he made a movie that salaciously attacked Trump’s character, some would see it as Hollywood propaganda or a 2-hour cinematic smear campaign. Now that the film had its world debut at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival what is the verdict on The Apprentice?

While it thankfully doesn’t come across as another generic run-of-the-mill biopic, it does feel like Abassi and screenwriter Gabriel Sherman have aired on the side of caution. 

Abassi has taken an objective approach to telling Trump’s story, remaining balanced and somewhat neutral to his subject. The film by no means paints Trump in a favourable light but it’s not as scathing as you might’ve expected.

Played in this film by Sebastian Stan the film spans through the 70s and 80s and charts Trump’s rise to prominence as a property developer in New York. It’s a metamorphosis narrative in which we watch the transformation of him go from an aspiring ambitious businessman to the ruthless Trump we know him as today. 

Before Donald Trump was president of the United States most people probably knew him from the popular reality TV series The Apprentice in which he would fire candidates one by one for a coveted job within his company. Some may be surprised that the TV show itself isn’t even referenced in this film.

The Apprentice of the title refers to Trump himself and the relationship he has with his mentor; the unscrupulous lawyer Roy Cohn played here by a bullish Jeremy Strong. Cohn took Trump under his wing and taught his three rules of winning; attack, deny everything, and never admit defeat.

Another male relationship Abassi explores is the one Donald has with his brutish father Fred Sr (Martin Donovan) who was sparing with his love and set unreasonable expectations for his children. At a family dinner, he openly scoffs at his eldest son Feddy’s (Charlie Carrick) profession of being an airline pilot and says that he’s an embarrassment to the family.

It’s clear that the two most influential male figures in Donald’s life heavily contributed to his callous outer shell. 

For those that aren’t familiar with early Trump, Gabriel Sherman’s screenplay covers the highlights from the 70’s and 80’s. From meeting, wooing, and marrying Ivana (Maria Bakaolva), to the tax abatement granted for his acquisition of the Commodore and then turning it into the Grand Hyatt. To the construction of Trump Tower and the death of his brother. But for those who read Trump’s book The Art of the Deal, there isn’t all that much new to learn. 

The strongest attributes of The Apprentice are no doubt the performances of Stan and Strong. What everyone was keen to know was if Stan could bring depth and dimension to Trump’s rambunctious public persona. Donald Trump is one of those media personalities with so many discernible mannerisms that he’s easy for anyone to make an impression of, but often impersonations of him descend quickly into caricature – like a tacky reverend in a Vegas chapel pretending to be Elvis Presley. 

All eyes were on Sebastian Stan to see if he could stick the landing and he crushed it here. Stan brings a surprising amount of restraint to his performance, never does it feel over-egged or like he’s leaning too heavily on the signature Trumpy-ticks. Enhanced with some very convincing makeup, he simply lives in the character’s soon-to-be orange-tinted skin. His shoulders are hunched, he often tussles his hair, his mouth slightly pouty, and nails his distinctive speech patterns by emphasizing words like “totally”. Stan imbues him as a young man with ambition, confidence, and a fundamental desire to win. 

His relentless pursuit of model Ivana Zelnickova (Maria Bakalova) positions her as the prize to be won by Trump. Bakalova is slightly underutilized as Trump’s first wife, however, Bakalova does great work to make her more than just a trophy wife. She was just as much part of the Trump brand as her husband. Putting her interior design skills to great use in helping to design the instantly recognizable atrium of Trump Tower. 

Jeremy Strong is also ferociously good as the volatile Roy Cohn – a man whose actions were quite frankly abhorrent. Cohn was not above verbal abuse and intimidation. As a closeted gay man, he weaponized homophobia and blackmailed other secretly gay public figures by threatening to out them if he didn’t get what he wanted. But when Cohn eventually contracts AIDS, Strong manages to mine some humanity from such an unsympathetic person. Both Stan and Strong are sure to be in contention for some awards for their performances.

Abassi’s aesthetic for this film is also impressive. His almost fly-on-the-wall style direction coupled with the grainy almost home-camcorder celluloid gives The Apprentice a bootleg feel from the era in which it’s set. The soundtrack is also peppered with pop songs like Yes Sir, I Can Boogie, and Blue Monday to inform the audience where we are in the timeline.

At times Gabriel Sherman’s dialogue does come across as clunky foreshadowing of what we know is to come. Characters ask him repeatedly ” Have you ever thought of running for office?t” and we we even get the origins of Trump’s beloved “Make America Great Again” slogan. But these nuggets of trivia are hardly anything that revelatory.

The film wraps up with a sequence not unlike the scene in Revenge of the Sith with Anakin Skywalker putting on the Darth Vader helmet for the first time. As we watch Trump’s doctors perform liposuction and staple up his bald patch on his scalp we can’t help but feel we’re witnessing a rebirth. He’s becoming the man he’s meant to be. The colder, power-hungry Trump.

But after all is said and done I couldn’t help but feel a little short-changed by the film’s ending which does play things a little too safe. 

It has to be said what is currently happening with Trump is far more interesting than anything that happens in this film. The fact he’s running for office in the same year he’s undergoing a legal battle for 34 counts of falsifying business records is a far more audacious story that is unfolding in real-time. 

This echoes the sentiments of South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone during Trump’s previous administration. President Trump was an easy target for weekly mockery but they quickly learned nothing they could whip up in a South Park episode was ever going to be anywhere near as funny as what the man in charge was doing himself. Satire had become a new form of reality in American Politics so they opted to sit back and let the comedy play out naturally. With The Apprentice film, it does beg the question; if the real-life drama is more interesting than what a biopic can offer – why bother watching it?

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The Apprentice screened as part of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival and is seeking distribution in the US. StudioCanal will distribute the film in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Movie Rating: 6.5/10

Check out Luke’s Video Review for The Apprentice here!

Awards Buzz: Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong are strong possibilities for the Actor and Supporting Actor categories. Maria Bakalova could secure a Golden Globe nomination but elsewhere seems unlikely. The Oscars may also give it some acknowledgment for Original Screenplay, Hair & Makeup. There’s also an outside chance for production design.