Like a lot of people, I was apprehensive when this movie was first announced—as I fan of Sebastian Stan, I know I wasn’t alone in wondering, “Who asked for this?” But then I started hearing some interesting things about it, and as award season kicked off, I realized that I was starting to look forward to seeing it.
What’s It About?
In the 1970s, real estate scion Donald Trump dreams of putting his own stamp on New York City, obsessed with revitalizing a seedy part of the city with a massive hotel bearing his name. To accomplish his goals, he learns at the unscrupulous feet of Roy Cohn, a crooked lawyer who never lets the law or morality get in the way of winning. We follow Trump’s haphazard meteoric rise, seeing who he steps on to get there.
Who’s in It?
I’ve been a fan of Sebastian Stan for over 15 years, and despite my skepticism on this one, I can agree that he knocks it out of the park as the young Donald Trump. It probably helps that this is a younger Trump, before his gimmicks fully devolved in self-parody, but Stan’s performance is fantastic. Critically, it never feels like an impression. While the Trumpisms are definitely on display—the voice, the hand gestures, the facial expressions—Stan plays him as a person, not a caricature. He’s alternately fascinating and revulsive in the role. I was less sold on Jeremy Strong’s Roy Cohn at first; his performance does feel a bit more like an impersonation, albeit of a figure whose mannerisms I wasn’t familiar with. I came around more in the second half of the film, especially in the passages where we see Roy Cohn more on the ropes. And while I knew about Stan and Strong, I had no idea that Maria Bakalova was in this film too, playing Trump’s first wife Ivana.
What’s It Nominated For?
The Apprentice was nominated for two Oscars:
· Best Leading Actor – Sebastian Stan
· Best Supporting Actor – Jeremy Strong
What Do I Love About It?
· I thought this movie was really well done. The acting is at the top of the list for me, but the script is sharp—equal parts funny, terrible, and biting. The story moves at a good pace, and the film captures the grimy feel of the 1980s New York real estate business, replete with all the underhandedness and cheap excess you’d expect.
· There are a few places where the script feels a little too on-the-nose, like in a scene where a young Roger Stone asks Trump if he’d ever consider running for office, but for the most part, I think it does a great job of showing us Trump’s past while evoking the present. Most significantly, the three rules Roy Cohn teaches Trump loom over the entire film, and it’s depressingly easy to see how they play out in America today.
· The biggest feat of the movie is that it gives me some insight into better understanding Trump, contextualizing his rise and how he became the man he is today. But understanding and context is never used as a means to excuse or justify Trump. It can be hard for stories to give perspective to the “antagonist” without sympathizing with them, but The Apprentice doesn’t flinch in its depiction here.
Warnings
Strong thematic elements (including the early days of the AIDS crisis,) language (including sexist and homophobic slurs,) drinking/smoking/drug use, sexual content, and violence (including sexual assault.)
