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| Enlarged to the traditional size of Kaiju movie monsters, the three stars threaten to wreak havoc on New York City on this fine poster for Ali Abbasi's The Apprentice |
The son of American businessman Fred Trump, Donald Jr. is hellbent on making himself stand out in a way that his perceived let-down pilot brother has neglected, and to boost himself into a New York tycoon and world-famous business leader, he enrolls under the mentorship of ruthless lawyer Roy Cohn.
The Apprentice is written by Gabriel Sherman (Independence Day: Resurgence (2016)) and directed by Iranian-born Danish master filmmaker Ali Abbasi (Shelley (2016)), whose 4th feature it is.
A biopic about the arguably most talked-about and controversial figure worldwide in the last few decades, and releasing it during his third presidential campaign, is bound to be divisive. The filmmakers have 'attacked' their subject from a critical, leftist position to be sure but to their credit have attempted to tell the story of the 1970s and 1980s arrival of Donald Trump in business without their sentiments and politics sneaking in. Global opinion on Trump is still very much in determination, and will be for his second period as US President 2025-29. This makes for an obstacle for the film, because in essence many audiences will be still too much involved in the ongoing 'Trump reality' to have the reserve and interest to look into a fictional retelling of his past. In any case he is such a behemoth that the film is likely to keep attracting new audiences for the years to come.
This is of course also based on the fact that The Apprentice is fueled by a strong script and great performances: Sebastian Stan (Ghosted (2023)) arrives in force and is very authentic as Trump; Jeremy Strong (Succession (2018-23)) is intense and highly persuasive as the chameleon-like, powerful Cohn, whose AIDS disease renders him an outcast before his death; and Maria Bakalova (Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022)) as Donald's first wife Ivana, who is portrayed brilliantly as a flawed but mostly sympathetic woman. Martin Donovan (Tenet (2020)) is a great choice and very good as Fred Trump. The production design and locations are never lacking, but what is lacking in the life of Donald Trump, it seems, is love and sincere affection. A shark-like pursuit of money and power instead rules supreme. This makes his story a fairly dark watch, but the pacing keeps it moving well, SPOILER and a darkly humorous, directorially rich flourish in the end is that Abbasi provides a gruelingly visual account of Donald's liposuction and bald spot plastic surgery, cross cut with Cohn's demise. Appropriately devoid of sentimentality, The Apprentice has an admirable punk rock energy, serious performances and may well stand the test of time.
Related post:
Ali Abbasi: 2022 in films - according to Film Excess
Holy Spider (2022) - Blood on the hands of Iran's Islamic system and its leaders
Watch a trailer for the film here
Cost: 16 mil. $
Box office: 12.1 mil. $ and counting
= Too early to say
[The Apprentice premiered 20 May (Cannes Film Festival, main competition) and runs 123 minutes. Announced in 2018, the film only really came underway when the cast and Abbasi were announced in 2022 and 2023. 15 companies and support bodies were involved in the financing and production of the film. Shooting took place from November 2023 - January 2024 in Ontario, including in Toronto. SPOILER The rape scene was based on Ivana Trump's divorce deposition (under oath) in which she alleged it. She backed away from the allegation 30 years later, during Trump's third presidential campaign. Trump's amphetamine use was detailed in Harry Hurt's biography. The film was attacked by Dan Snyder, one of its financial backers, who had thought it would be a positive account of its subject. His stake was bought by James Shani and Rich Spirit, already stakeholders in the film. Trump's team unsuccessfully tried to stop the film from coming out, and Abbasi invited Trump to see it for himself, getting no response. Trump called the film a "disgusting hatchet job" and the filmmakers "human scum". The film's release was made difficult by Trump's looming power, but it was eventually released, just weeks prior to the November 2024 election. The film opened #10 to a 1.6 mil. $ first weekend in 1,740 theaters in North America, its peak there, where it has so far grossed 3.9 mil. $. The film's BoxOfficeMojo site is missing its Danish gross, where it has so far grossed at least 640k $. The film has to announced markets left to release in; Russia and Japan. It lost the Palme d'Or to Anora. Abbasi does not have his next film announced yet. Stan returns in Thunderbolts (2025); Strong in Deliver Me from Nowhere; and Bakalova in Triumph (2024). The Apprentice is certified fresh at 82 % with a 6.80/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
What do you think of The Apprentice?
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