The Apprentice: A modern day horror story
The story of the rise of Donald Trump is as compelling as it is scary.
Sebastian Stan’s performance as a young Donald Trump is so convincing and so strong that it makes sitting through this film almost as unbearable as his 4 years in office.
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The Apprentice is a film about the rise of a young Donald Trump in New York City. The story centers around Trump’s relationship with infamous closeted lawyer turned mentor Roy Cohn, played by Jeremy Strong. Cohn was like a father-figure to Trump and was a key player in Trump’s early New York real estate empire. The movie also details the budding romance and eventual nasty ending of Trumps marriage with his first wife, Ivanna, played by Maria Bakalova.
This film is at its best when Stan and Strong are together. Their performances feed off of each other and add an interesting nuance to the characters. I found it almost scary how much Sebastian Stan looked, sounded, and acted like Trump. Stan transports you back in time.
Maria Bakalova is also brilliant and delivers a compelling performance, especially during the shocking scene in which Trump tells Ivana he no longer loves her and subsequently rapes her. A true story that Ivana revealed under oath during their 1990 divorce, this scene and the entirety of the third-act will leave viewers absolutely horrified by what they just watched.
The alleged rape is taken from a court deposition “that Ivana gave under oath during her 1990 divorce.” “In fact, the scene she described in the divorce papers was actually far more graphic and brutal than the one we dramatized in the film.” - USA Today
The Apprentice is hard to get through. This is not because it is a bad film, but because you have to watch the “birth” of the nasty, ruthless, and greedy human being that has affected us all right before your eyes. Sebastian Stan is so good at playing Donald Trump, it is really mind-bending.
The story would have benefited from more time focusing on Trump’s marriage with Ivana and his relationship with his late brother, Fred Trump Jr. I found both of those relationships fascinating and believe more emphasis on them would have made the overall plot that much more intriguing.
The Apprentice is in theaters today. You can check out all my other reviews at Blitz’s Backlot. Let me know your thoughts on the film in the comments below. What is your rating?
