Female Film Critics 24/375
Long before real estate mogul Donald Trump hired wannabe business executives to be his protégés on a reality television show, there was a rude and remorseless, pompous and pandering New York lawyer named Roy Cohn who brought a young Trump into his legal laboratory and groomed him in his image. This transformation is the basis of the biographical film The Apprentice.
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What we talk about when we talk about The Apprentice is Jeremy Strong in the role of Roy Cohn, a performance of such ferocity and richness that a viewer is left slack-jawed in wonder. But The Apprentice is essentially a film about how Trump became Trump; besides Roy Cohn’s influence, the movie covers the 1970s and ‘80s version of Trump — his marriage to Ivana (Maria Bakalova), his failed casinos in Atlantic City, what looks like a growing reliance on amphetamines, and so on. It’s an often amusing tale, but essentially tragic. Director Ali Abbasi shows the long-gone crumbs of humanity in Donald Trump; the notion of Trump starting out as an inept, easily impressed young man is an interesting take. Expect heated viewer arguments after every screening — always a good sign.
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