The Apprentice is the most American film of the year with the story of Donald Trump front and center. Ali Abbasi directs the film about the former president in the only way you can. Sebastian Stan stars as Donald Trump while Jeremy Strong plays Roy Cohn. There’s so much that can go wrong with a film like this. It could easily turn into a bad parody or sketch, The Apprentice however doesn’t. Ali and screenwriter Gabriel Sherman decide to chronicle Trump’s early business career. We see what shaped the man we know today and how Cohn was a huge influence on Trump. It’s a whirlwind of a movie and can be called an American Horror Story.

Sebastian Stan is clearly in an element here playing the former president. I was skeptical going in if Stan would be able to rise above a bad caricature or impression. Sebastian, however, manages to pull off what no one has been able to do with Trump. We see him truly take form as the man that is Trump and deliver such a complicated performance. Jeremy Strong as Cohn takes center screen and is able to grasp our attention. Strong is known for being intense in his roles and this one seems no different. Bakalova comes on screen about halfway through but is able to command an emotional Ivana. It was such an interesting deep dive into these people’s life’s that I only had a superficial understanding of. There is a lot of comedic scenes throughout that the characters are able to deliver on but quickly switch to tragic moments. Ali being able to navigate these tonal shifts in about 2 hours makes The Apprentice a much more interesting film that it feels like a modern Greek tragedy.

Ali Abbasi directs the film almost like a high-octane thriller of the dark side of American politics and wealth. It leaves you feeling uncomfortable and your mind racing, wondering where it will end. You can’t help but to pinpoint so many moments to how things are today. It’s insane there are moments that you can see in the film as the birth of the Donald Trump we know today. It’s set in a time when the landscape of corporate greed in America began to take a turn; an examination into what led us into the situation we are in today. I was fascinated how much of the film went into the personal life of Donald Trump and the Trump family. Abbasi doesn’t try to take an easy way out either here wanting you to feel weird about the whole situation.

There’re moments in the film where you just want to look away but can’t help but to keep engaged. The material feels so outlandish and cringe for all the characters. I couldn’t help but to feel some mixed feelings as you know what roads these humans will take. I think it’s a masterful connection to how late-stage capitalism keeps molding our world today. In the final moments of the film, I felt perplexed by what I just witnessed in two hours. The Apprentice won’t give you much more insight into what we already know about Trump, but I also don’t think Abassi is trying to pinpoint what made Trump into what we have today. In my opinion, The Apprentice is more of a reminder that Donald Trump is more than just a person but an idea to many. We can see this story playing out through history and probably repeating. Ali has crafted a warning of the dangers of corrupt power and how it eventually affects everyone.

The Apprentice 4/5.