The Apprentice

When I first learned that a Donald Trump biopic was being made with Sebastian Stan cast as the lead role, I was extremely apprehensive and had more than a few questions. Do we need a biopic on Donald Trump when it doesn’t seem like we need to know anything else about the man? Is it responsible to be releasing a film about Donald Trump this close to the upcoming 2024 election? And, though this question is not nearly as important, would Sebastian Stan even pull off the role? After seeing this film, I can confidently answer all three of those questions with a resounding “Absolutely”. 

Though I am sure there was a comedic, satirical film that could have been made about Trump’s life, I appreciate that this film treated the material with a lot of gravity. Yes, Trump is an outrageous and at times unintentionally hilarious public figure. Yet his significance is no laughing matter, and it was important that the film did not illustrate him like a caricature. Sebastian Stan is pivotal in this depiction as he delivers one of the best performances of the year. Trump has been a very heavily parodied character from SNL to TikTok and it is a true feat that Stan embodies every mannerism and inflection without ever feeling disingenuous. This film gives him far more depth in a way that another lesser filmmaker would do and actually make him this 3-dimensional character instead of just portraying him as the devil incarnate. It is a certainly unflattering depiction, but the critiques hit harder because of how much more studied they are. 

Opposite of Sebastian Stan is everyone’s number one boy Jeremy Strong as Roy Cohn, who gives possibly the best performance of his career and perhaps even the best performance of the entire year. Roy Cohn is an incredibly dislikeable man, but this film gives him so much depth you cannot help but be mesmerized by it. As we watch him unravel throughout the course of the film, Strong stands tall as a phenomenally talented actor who provides one of the most interesting performances of the year.

Maria Bakalova has been a standout for me since seeing her in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm and it’s nice to see her taking on more dramatic and demanding roles. While I am more partial to her work in Borat, this is still a really solid turn from her and I look forward to checking out more and more of her work as her career continues. 

I have been focusing on the performances a lot so far but don’t misunderstand: this isn’t a film that is held up solely by its acting. The Apprentice is an excellent combination of good direction, solid screenwriting and excellent cinematography. I’m unfamiliar with Ali Abbassi’s previous work, but this is the kind of film that would make me want to check out a director’s entire filmography. There is this innate confidence present in the film that allows you to bask in what you are watching. There are a handful of scenes that are incredibly uncomfortable to watch but they never cross the line and become exploitative. Even if you have a solid understanding and basic knowledge of who Donald Trump is, this is still an incredibly fascinating film that breaks away from the clichés of the standard biopic. 

The man behind the aforementioned brilliant cinematography, DP Kasper Tuxen, has said that he was influenced by the Dogme films that were being made around the time of his studies at the Danish National School of Film. This allowed him to be very minimalist with the camerawork, which gave the film a unique style that sets it apart from its dime-a-dozen biopic contemporaries. There is a beautiful simplicity in the way that shots are framed and scenes are shot. The film isn’t overly flashy or in your face with the cinematography, but it’s still incredibly engrossing and pulls you in — not too dissimilar to a Donald Trump handshake.

The Apprentice really surprised me, and while it is not necessarily reinventing the wheel, it does not need to. This is a film that features fantastic performances, fiery direction, a solid script and some inspired cinematography. What more could one want from a film?

8/10