Ali Abbasi – film review of “The Apprentice”.

The danger of making a film like this is that it could be too sympathetic to Trump, and when I first saw Sebastian Stan on screen I was worried that this might be the case. We initially see him as a scared and pathetic wannabe who desperately wants to hang out with the cool kids in Manhattan’s exclusive clubs, but ends up vomiting in the back of a taxi after barely two drinks. His father is overbearing, the butt of all jokes and ultimately the opposite of everything he wants to be.

But after a chance meeting with unscrupulous New York lawyer Roy Cohn (played by Jeremy Strong), Trump’s luck begins to change. And it is this relationship that the film explores most, observing the exchange of power between both men and the emergence of evil as Trump goes from crying schoolboy to scum of the earth.

Strong’s performance is wonderfully contradictory; He is someone we first respect out of fear as we watch him proudly share his golden rules of tax evasion and dirty manipulation tactics. Cohn is a murderous murderer; No method is off limits, and when we see his underground basement filled with illegally obtained records of public officials admitting to personal affairs and bribery, we understand exactly what kind of lawyer he is. When Trump sees this room, he stammers, “But… isn’t that illegal?” Cohn throws his hands in the air as if to say, “My dear boy, that’s the point!”

But we eventually develop a deep pity for him as his pain becomes the only human aspect of the film as we slowly observe a man whose humanity has been eroded by a world that has absorbed his only gift and no one is in his corner anymore . But make no mistake, the man is still a monster, but a monster we can better understand. We see his vulnerability exposed as the public mercilessly picks him apart and harasses him over his sexuality, abandoning the iron-clad image he once had. Partial reparation is possible for some, but not for Trump.

As their friendship deepens, Cohn teaches Trump (my computer, somewhat appropriately, keeps auto-correcting his name to trauma) how to continue climbing the slippery ropes of Manhattan real estate and climbing his way up the social ladder, marrying Ivanka at the start With his moral decline, we are slowly beginning to see the semblance of the Trump we know today. Stan continually develops and trains his portrayal of Trump over the course of the film, gradually building up the strange collection of quirks and tics by which we know him today.

As Trump conquers the dirty monopoly of pretentious New York skyscrapers, we see the growth of his own narcissism and the dangerous mentality that has terrorized a nation of people: a man unable to recognize and come to terms with the truth surrounds delusions and people who won’t say no to his childish demands. His brother is an addict and Trump rejects him when he asks for help. He cruelly tells his wife that he is no longer attracted to her and then sexually assaults her. He rejects Cohn and his friendship and believes he is above his company after finding out he has AIDS.

And this is where the movie started playing in my head. While Trump’s behavior is truly despicable, the film is based on him throughout. There are moments where we see glimpses of Ivanka’s loneliness and the inhumane treatment she is subjected to, but Abbasi never lets us linger in the perspective of people who didn’t like or were critical of Trump, and without any comparison to humans , who openly rejected his behavior. It doesn’t feel like the film is biting enough to be mocking or critical enough to be constructive. We just follow him modestly on this relentless power trip with an aggressive, energetic soundtrack.

Although the film is technically innovative and the second half was shot with a completely different camera, producing a grainy VCR style as Trump becomes as cheap and empty as a reality TV show, I fear that the narrative is not as expressive or is innovative

Abba’s portrait of one of the most damaging people in the world ultimately seemed hollow and a little spineless. Making a film about a politically charged and timely issue doesn’t automatically add weight to the story, and to be truly subversive and controversial, the film has to say more than just suggest that Trump is a bad person. This isn’t breaking news; We’ve known this for some time. And considering how powerful Trump is and how hard he had to fight to make the film, it’s a shame not to do something bolder.

While The apprentice is definitely entertaining, at what cost does it entertain us? Using this person’s monstrosities for entertainment feels exploitative, and by not projecting criticism onto the character it feels like it’s just that. It’s not mocking enough to be satirical, and it’s not honest enough to be explosive. By failing to comment on the broader impact of his actions, the otherwise powerful and dynamic film comes off as slightly weak and cowardly, creating a docile commentary on America’s most dangerous madman.

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