The Apprentice pulls off something miraculous in its bombastic telling of the early days of Donald Trump’s career. You see, at this point in my life I am at capacity with the American political process and the social insanity it causes. It’s an election year, and I’m pretty tired of the onslaught of notable historical events that have dominated the last few months alone. I’m especially tired of the stranglehold that the existence of Trump has on all forms of media. It’s been eight years since I’ve gone a single day without hearing his name or seeing his face or thinking about him in some way, and I’ve had enough. The man has somehow gotten baked into the fabric of daily life and I am over it. I can’t even say the words “billions” or “China” without accidentally dipping into his style of speaking. The last thing I want to do is electively devote two hours of my life to watching a movie all about him.
And before you dumb binary thinkers out there say “oh, so I guess you must love Harris with all your heart then?” — No, I do not. Not even a little bit. I would be ashamed to consider myself either a Republican or a Democrat. To put it simply, I don’t like politicians, I don’t like cops, and I don’t like liars. Yes, I do vote in every election that I can. No, I will never tell anyone who I vote for in any election ever. This is the last that I’m talking about my own personal political tastes. I’m here to talk about an awesome movie.
Ahem.
Not only does The Apprentice manage to sidestep my personal state of Trump exhaustion, it manages to do so by telling a compelling, complex, adult story of American avarice and excess that kept me riveted for its entire runtime. It’s one of the year’s best films. And yeah, Donald Trump is the main character, but only insofar as the plot. Storywise, it’s about how in America, the quickest path to the top is to abandon all principles — to use and destroy anyone who unwittingly finds themselves in your orbit.
Early in the film, famed lawyer/monster Roy Cohn, played here with villainous verve by Jeremy Strong, advises his young protege of the three rules he abides by in order to succeed:
- Attack, attack, attack.
- Admit nothing. Deny everything.
- Claim victory and never admit defeat.
It’s a lesson immediately taken to heart by a young Trump (Sebastian Stan, somehow becoming The Donald without dipping into caricature), who at this point seems to have a sliver of humanity left within him (like, the tiniest sliver). It’s the late 70s and the young real estate mogul dreams of bringing the Big Apple back to its former glory. His plan for doing so involves the construction of Trump Tower, a ritzy destination that will revive the crumbling image of Manhattan.
Trump wants gold plating, an indoor waterfall, and an outer window that will reflect the surrounding iconic pieces of city architecture. It will be a place where the wealthy can show off what they have, and the non-wealthy can try the high life on for size. It’s “fake it ‘til you make it” made literal, even down to the tax abatement that Trump and Cohn blackmail city officials in order to obtain. They don’t have the money to build it, but if they pretend for long enough, the money will come.
Which it does.
Gabriel Sherman’s script follows both Trump and Cohn as they implement the latter’s three rules to climb the corporate/social ladder of ‘80s New York. From the first time Trump abandons a principle in order to get ahead — “I don’t drink,” he says before drinking to excess at an early meeting with Cohn — to a final flourish that layers a liposuction procedure against a funeral, driving home the notion that Frankenstein has been killed by his monster, no punches are pulled in showing how the bromance between the two leads became so topheavy that it was sure to collapse on at least one of them.
Along for the ride on this deeply American journey is Trump’s first wife Ivana (Maria Bakalova). To Cohn, this romance is a potential liability for his apprentice, but for Trump it’s a status symbol: a hot blonde model who matches his cuff links, and who he has to remind to smile during public appearances. It’s fascinating to watch something that starts off with a decent amount of charm get ravaged by greed and ego. The relationship between Ivana and Trump echoes that of what exists between Cohn and Trump, but opposite. In the same way Cohn takes Trump under his wing in order to build him into a success, Trump does a similar thing to Ivana. He wants to turn her into a trophy, and in doing so forgets that she’s a person.
Director Ali Abbasi is chameleonic in terms of material, but has a distinct, urgent style to brings a liveliness to any story he tackles. The Apprentice has the fun historical energy of things like The Big Short or BlackBerry, only the seediness of its story is not played for humor. This is a smart way to play it given how easy it would be for the film to fall into caricature and become a big-budget SNL sketch. A mix of handheld camerawork and faux-archival footage bring the setting to life and give it a sense of urgency, while segments shot in a more classic style make it feel like a stage play on film a la Glengarry Glen Ross. Abbasi walks a fine line in making his subject simultaneously larger than life and so small as being worthy of dismissal. Trump is alternately framed as the giant at the head of the table and a groveling puppy looking to be noticed. And being such a loaded real-world figure, it’s equally amazing how Abbasi/Sherman characterize the man without broad editorializing. There’s an effort to let the story speak for itself.
This is both the film’s greatest asset and biggest downfall — which actually might be the whole point. On the one hand, a preachy cautionary political screed wouldn’t be nearly as entertaining as this movie turns out to be. On the other hand, there are few people whose opinion of Trump/Cohn will change after seeing it. Anti-Trump audiences will see a story about a small man whose lack of principles and willingness to destroy anything that challenges his ego grants him huge success. Pro-Trump audiences will see the great American success story (and will likely ignore the scene where he brutally rapes his wife). Many viewers will assuredly bring their own baggage to this movie and see only what they want to see. As Cohn tells his monster in training: “Truth is a malleable thing.”
Yet as a tale of the American machine and the type of person it rewards, The Apprentice has a lot to say. The story being told is not unique to the men and women contained within. As cartoonish as Trump has become (and as Cohn seemed to embrace during the entirety of his self-hatred-fueled life), he’s really just a variable in a busted equation. If not Trump and Cohn, it would’ve been someone else. And the next Trump/Cohn is coming whether we like it or not. And then another after that and another after that. The system is just as broken as the people it manifests, and those people only seem to know how to break it further.
Between this and A Different Man, Sebastian Stan is having quite the season. He’s undoubtedly one of the best in the business. I think we’ll be seeing interesting stuff from him for a long time yet.
And again, no, I’m not discussing politics with you. I already voted by mail so it doesn’t matter what you say to me, and no, I’m not telling you who I voted for.
Directed by Ali Abassi
Written by Gabriel Sherman
Starring Sebastian Stan, Jeremy Strong, Maria Bakalova, Martin Donovan
Rated R, 120 minutes
