Review: The Apprentice
An American Horror Story
INTRODUCTION
This is a quick review of the newly released film The Apprentice. Keep in mind this is but one of the many movies I watch every year, and that whatever initial grade I come up for this film could change for better or worse with time. To better keep up to date with both my thoughts on other movies and if my feelings on this film changed, follow me on Letterboxd.
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THE PLOT
Via Letterboxd: A young Donald Trump, eager to make his name as a hungry scion of a wealthy family in seventies New York, comes under the spell of Roy Cohn, the cutthroat attorney who would help create the Donald Trump that we know of today. Cohn sees in Trump the perfect protégé - someone with raw ambition, a hunger for success, and a willingness to do whatever it takes to win.
QUICK REVIEW
In 2022, Ali Abbasi’s Holy Spider stood out as one of the better foreign-language films I saw that year. It depicted a serial killer targeting sex workers, deluded into thinking he was purging “sinners” from society. Now, Abbasi has taken on an origin story for one of the most cruel and evil figures to ever occupy the White House - Donald Trump.
Although this film premiered at Cannes in the summer and was released to the public in late October, I purposely waited to watch it until after the election results were known to see how the film would resonate in light of last Tuesday. A week after Americans showed that even an insurrection against one’s own country wasn’t a dealbreaker, I clicked on the screener link provided and dove in.
The movie doesn’t overly parody Trump, nor does it attempt to humanize him despite his sixty-plus years of recorded misdeeds. We see Trump’s transformation from a naive, spoiled brat craving his father’s approval into a ruthless figure willing to betray family and friends for power. In some ways, his evolution over the film’s two-hour runtime plays out like a horror story.
Trump’s vices of gluttony, envy, greed, lust, etc are all on display, with Roy Cohn as his mentor. From the first act, Cohn’s influence is palpable, shaping Trump into the evil we recognize today. The film pulls no punches, even including a disturbing scene where Trump rapes his then-wife.
The cast does an impressive job bringing these real-life characters to screen. Sebastian Stan fully inhabits Trump, capturing his voice and mannerisms by the final scenes. Jeremy Strong is the standout as Cohn, who, in my mind, steals the film as its MVP. Maria Bakalova makes the most of her limited screen time as Ivana Trump.
The direction and soundtrack are strong, with the latter giving the film its distinct personality throughout.
However, the movie’s weakness is that it offers little new insight into Trump or Cohn compared to what we already know about each man. Instead of leaving me entertained, I felt more like I needed a shower after watching. Despite its solid execution, this isn’t a film I’d eagerly rewatch. I can’t say for sure if the election results influenced my opinion, but it’s how I felt when the credits rolled.
The Apprentice earns a straightforward B. Not a B- or B+, just a plain old B. The film is well-crafted, but this real-life American horror story left me more disturbed than entertained or informed.
INITIAL GRADING
