Director: Ali Abbasi (Border, Holy Spider)
Accolades: Nominated for Palme d’Or (Cannes)
Country: Canada/Denmark/Ireland/USA
Year: 2024
Runtime: 123 minutes
Language: English
Cast: Sebastian Stan, Jeremy Strong, Maria Bakalova
The Deal:
Sebastian Stan stars a young Donal Trump in 1970s New York, where he’s hungry for success and crosses paths with the infamous Roy Cohn (Succession’s Jeremy Strong). The biopic explores the complex relationship between the ruthless lawyer who guides the young businessman to be just as ruthless (if not more) than him.
Don’t mistake the film as a biopic; it’s truly about the relationship between Trump and Cohn set behind the gritty backdrop of its time (ending during the corporate greed of the Reagan years).
Stan brilliantly manages to almost humanize Trump, while Strong’s performance is very physically layered.
Watch This If: Don’t let U.S. Election fatigue dissuade you from checking it out. Story aside, there’s a great creative decision to present the film through filters from the era (grainy to videotape) and boasts a good soundtrack. You’ll even recognize some Toronto locations.
Rating: ★★★★
The Apprentice (2024) opens across Canada on Friday, Oct. 11. This review was filed following a special press screening by Mongrel Media in September 2024.
