The Apprentice (2024)
Directed by Ali Abbasi
[Rated R] 2hr 2min
★★★½
The Apprentice is a biopic about Donald Trump’s rising prominence under the guidance of Roy Cohn. It depicts the major events of Trumps life from 1973 to 1986 through a historical lens while also highlighting his family and business relationships during that period of time.
This isn’t a very enjoyable film to watch, but it’s not supposed to be; it demonstrates the sleazy deals and government corruption that allows the wealthy to bend the rules in order to solely benefit themselves. It also exposes their complicity in exploiting others for money and power as well as showing the various crimes they commit in the process. This is one of the most disturbing aspects of the film, as it displays how rich people and businesses have continued operating as an oligarchy within the United States for decades. In addition, Jeremy Strong’s performance is outstanding with his terrifyingly callous portrayal of Cohn. Sebastian Stan’s also gives an excellent performance as Trump that accurately depicts his mannerisms and speech patterns without seeming like a parody. The overall aesthetic of the film has an authentic 1970s documentary style, which makes the story even more compelling. However, the film doesn’t offer much more than that, and everything else remains fairly standard and expected, but it’s still worth watching for the great performances and relative historical accuracy.
With a variety of horror films in theaters this month, The Apprentice easily fits in among them. It’s real life implications on American politics make the story much more frightening than fictional narratives, but it’s also far less pleasant because of its basis in reality. I recommend this film to anyone who doesn’t mind an uncomfortable movie experience and is interested in seeing how Trump became what he is today.
The Apprentice is now playing in theaters and will be available to watch online starting November 1st. Click here to watch the Official Trailer.
– Review by Will Hopper