The Apprentice: LFF Film Review
When Sebastian Stan‘s casting as Donald Trump in The Apprentice was first announced, I almost did a spit-take. What the F?! So consider me pleasantly surprised that he really works in the role.
The film is set in the ’70s and ’80s and follows Trump (Stan) as he tries to establish himself as a property mogul in New York City. It focuses on his friendship with lawyer and mentor Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong).
At first, I was worried that The Apprentice was humanising Trump too much and making him too much of a sympathetic character. He seemed like a normal overambitious person, particularly in comparison to the cutthroat and corrupt Cohn. Thankfully, these concerns got quieter as he slowly turned into Cohn and became a monster.
Strong stole all the early scenes because Cohn was such a motormouth ball-buster (I was constantly laughing in shock at his insults) and Trump was simply a newcomer in business who needed help. This power eventually switches as Trump becomes more famous and morally corrupt.
Stan thankfully doesn’t do an exaggerated sketch show-style impression of Trump or even make him an exaggerated villain. He doesn’t look much like him or try to the voice. But he successfully portrays some of his subtle mannerisms, tics and movements. For example, the way he holds his mouth is uncanny. He turns up the dial bit by bit on these for every time jump and becomes closer to the man we recognise today. The hair and make-up team also do a terrific job at charting the evolution of his appearance over the years.
While I loved the performances, I came away unsure of what to feel about the story itself. It is tonally uneven and I’m not convinced about its characterisation of Trump. Also, I do not approve of the way it handled a sexual assault scene.
I can see why it has bombed in the US – Trump supporters won’t see it (especially as he’s publicly denounced it and threatened legal action) and his opposers probably don’t want to watch his story. However, The Apprentice is much better than I expected it to be and I have nothing but praise for Stan and Strong.
Seen at the London Film Festival. In cinemas from Friday 18th October