Sebastian Stan is an actor who has proven he is more than the guy who played Bucky Barnes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Earlier in the year, he starred in Aaron Schimberg’s drama “A Different Man” (2024) and has received praise from critics for his performance.
He has also starred in another 2024 film, “The Apprentice” (2024) directed by Ali Abbasi. Stan plays a young Donald Trump trying to establish himself as a made man with the approval of his already wealthy family. One night, he encounters Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong), a lawyer widely known for prosecuting the Rosenbergs, while on a date.
Trump tells Cohn about how the federal government is investigating his father, Fred Trump (Martin Donovan), for discrimination against African American tenants. Cohn eventually helps, and after blackmailing the lead prosecutor, the case is settled despite there being evidence of racial discrimination.
Cohn and Trump then grow closer, with Cohn also giving Trump advice about how the world works. Cohn does not believe in morality or doing something for the common good, but believes the only thing that matters is winning in whatever you want to succeed in.
Trump at first is hesitant about Cohn’s ideology, but throughout the film, he embraces what Cohn believes to the point where he abandons Cohn and becomes a power-hungry businessman who only wants more, no matter the cost.
The two standout performances in the film are Strong’s Cohn and Stan’s Trump. Their chemistry and relationship are very similar to Robert De Niro’s Jimmy Conway and Ray Liotta’s Henry Hill in Martin Scorsese’s classic “Goodfellas” (1990). Both duos have their clear differences, but where they overlap is how the latter betrays the former in a way the former did not imagine.
Strong plays Cohn with intimidation and control over every situation he is in. It is almost as if he just walked off the set of HBO’s “Succession” (2018–2023). He shows almost no emotion and is always a few steps ahead of everyone else. He is, as it were, playing chess while everybody else is playing checkers in a brilliant performance.
His co-star, Stan, does a great job bringing a portrayal of Trump to life that does not come across as comical. So many comedians and celebrities like Shane Gillis and Alec Baldwin have done the Trump impression to the point where the average person thinks that of Trump than the actual Trump himself.
Stan does not do that. His range as an actor allows him to play Trump in a serious role and not one just for laughs. The audience sees a real change in Trump at the beginning of the film compared to the ending. Trump’s journey is not a rags-to-riches story as he only wants to please his father and do well for his family. After meeting a bad influence in the form of Cohn, Trump’s wanting to help his family is gone and is replaced with something sinister.
No other actor could do what Stan does in this film. He plays a version of Trump that is more human than previous on-screen interpretations of him in the past.
What the film also does well is the way it is shot and filmed. There are many times in the film where the audience may think they are watching a documentary instead of a biopic. The filming really brings the viewers into the world of the film. The aesthetic of New York City and the people living in it look like photographs taken at the time.
A film like “The Apprentice” definitely feels like the people who made it thought it was more thought-provoking than it actually is. The film does not excel in its overall message.
The film puts Donald Trump in a bad light, and notably, this film was released in theaters during election season. Whether or not the film will affect the audience is unknown, but it is hard not to notice the clear bias against Trump.
At the end of the day, “The Apprentice” is another film that thought it was clever when it was not. However, that does not take away the good qualities the film presents. If it seems appealing to you, then checking it out would not hurt.
Rating: 3/5
