The Apprentice

Last night I went to see The Apprentice (my second Sebastian Stan movie this week) and I was absolutely riveted by this character study detailing how Donald Trump rose to become a New York real estate tycoon under the tutelage of the notoriously corrupt lawyer Roy Cohn.  In 1973 Donald Trump (Stan) is essentially an errand boy collecting rents for his father Fred (Martin Donovan) and the Trump Organization when he meets Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong) at a club.  Fred is embroiled in a federal investigation about his discriminatory practices against Black tenants and, despite Fred's opposition, Donald hires Cohn who settles the case favorably despite solid evidence against the Trump Organization.  Donald comes to see Cohn as a mentor and enlists his help in developing the Commodore Hotel.  When Donald expresses reservations about his unethical and illegal methods, Cohn teaches him that he must always attack, always deny wrongdoing, and always claim victory if he wants to succeed in business.  He also tells him that he must be willing to do whatever it takes, however abhorrent, to defeat an opponent.  Donald takes this advice to heart and, not only does he become ruthless in business during the 1980s, but he eventually betrays his brother Fred Jr. (Charlie Carrick), his father, his first wife Ivana (Maria Bakalova), and, eventually, Cohn himself.  I am not a fan of Donald Trump (to say the least) so I have to admit that I enjoyed seeing him portrayed so unsympathetically, especially the scenes showing his liposuction and scalp-reduction surgeries, but it was also very enlightening to see all of the influences on his evolution to the person we know today.  Stan's portrayal is brilliant and he completely nails all of Trumps's mannerisms, particularly the way he moves his lips when he talks, and Strong is also outstanding in a complex role.  This is so much better, and more objective, than I was expecting but I suspect that one's enjoyment of it will depend on one's opinion of Trump.