The Apprentice (2024) is directed by Ali Abbasi and stars Sebastian Stan, Jeremy Strong, Maria Bakalova, Martin Donovan, Charlie Carrick, Catherine McNally, Ben Sullivan, Mark Rendall, Jow Pingue, Ron Lea, Edie Inksetter, Matt Bara, Moni Ogunsuyi, Brad Austin, Stuart Hughes, and Jim Monaco. The film tells the story of how a young Donald J. Trump (Stan) rose to the top of the NYC real-estate scene with the help of his infamous lawyer/mentor, Roy Cohen (Strong). Along the way, the viewer is given a look into Trump’s dishonest yet effective business tactics as well as his toxic relationship with his estranged wife, Ivana (Bakalova). When Don reaches the top, he starts to see himself as the cream of the human crop – an attitude that inevitably leads to the destruction of the relationships that helped him succeed in the first place.

Stan is compelling as a young Donald Trump, but what’s impressive about the performance is that he never comes across as a lazy caricature. Even though the story is told with a slight liberal bias, the shots taken at his behavior/history never feel unfair and are mostly based on proven facts. Sure, Trump’s trademark mannerisms are silly and easy to satirize, but making them the butt of the joke would simply feel lazy and immature. Especially in the first half, there’s a handful of moments that make us feel true sympathy for Trump. It helps that the film avoids feeling too political in its messaging and instead comes across as a pretty straightforward character study focusing on one of history’s most compelling/controversial personalities. As opposed to telling the audience plainly why he thinks Trump is such a bad guy, the director instead places a majority of his focus on attacking a system that allows such a morally bankrupt man to succeed in the first place. This results in a film that for most of its runtime is a bit more tastefully subtle than I was expecting. Unfortunately, this changes in the third act, but we’ll get to that later. 

Jeremy Strong’s performance as Roy Cohen naturally isn’t as flashy as Stan’s, but I do think it’s the stronger performance overall. Don’t get me wrong, Stan fully deserves his Oscar nomination, but Strong steals the show. His arc develops conversely to Trump’s journey, and by the film’s end, they essentially switch places. With Trump, we see a man who slowly does away with any sense of morality, and with Cohen, we see a man who slowly begins to regret his selfish lifestyle. If you see Trump in a negative light, it’s easy to read this plainly as a lesson on why Trump sucks or even a metaphor for how people, or in this case, America as a whole, often create their monsters. Strong provides the film with an honesty of emotion it would otherwise lack if it only focused on Trump. He’s a man whose reputation rests on the masses not knowing what he truly thinks/feels, but that kind of insight is something the medium requires. If a story follows a character who naturally struggles to breed emotions in the viewer, it is smart to implement a supporting character who can pick up the slack.

Although the film takes a mostly neutral and observant approach to the material that works well and allows the viewer to make their own determinations about Trump, the final third becomes much too politically charged and feels solely intended to make the guy look like a scumbag. Although I personally agree with this portrayal, it’s one-sided and therefore fails to challenge the viewer intellectually regardless of what side of the political fence they’re on. None of his behavior feels unrealistically embellished, but the events the director eventually chooses to focus on make the film feel like less of a character study and more like a greatest hits montage of classic Trump buffoonery. It retains a strong sense of forward momentum and is well-acted throughout, but by the third act loses any sense of artistic balance. I think the director could have said exactly what he wanted to say without being so on-the-nose about it. The movie is never particularly kind to Trump, but it works as long as it stays focused on the sources of the man’s behavior and not the behavior itself. We all know how the guy is, so showing us is nothing new. Seeing the behavior is entertaining, but analyzing the cause is far more intellectually compelling and allows the themes to work on a level less specific to Trump. 

As a modern left-wing perspective on Trump’s rise to fame/power, the first two-thirds of the film are far more balanced than I was expecting, but it eventually devolves into the kind of low-intelligence political statement I was hoping it wouldn’t be. Liberals or Trump haters are sure to love this film (and I’m one of them), but even I will admit that it lacks a certain balance of perspective. For example, there’s one scene that equates Trump’s hair transplant to Anakin Skywalker’s transformation into Darth Vader. It’s an admittedly funny reference, but way too on-the-nose. Regardless if you agree with the film’s messaging, I think it’s worth a watch for anyone who appreciates top-tier acting. Jeremy Strong and Sebastian Stan are a joy to behold. B-