Movie Review by Sergio Martinez
Just a short time before the presidential elections in the
United States, this film, directed by Ali Abbasi, with a script by Gabriel
Sherman, was released, and it focuses on the early business career of Donald
Trump. The film does not venture into the magnate's moves after the 90s. Therefore,
there are no references to his presidential pretensions, although on one
occasion, during a press interview in which he talked about changing the world,
he was asked about that possibility.
It is the late 1970s, and Trump (Sebastian Stan) works for
his father in the real estate company that bears his surname and owns several
middle-income buildings in New York. Although he holds the title of vice
president of the company, his job is not glamorous, and he must deal with
hostile tenants or others who don't even deign to open the door when he goes to
collect rent from them. However, Donald already has his sights set on broader
horizons. The opportunity presents itself when he meets lawyer Roy Cohn (Jeremy
Strong), known for his aggressive New York courtroom tactics.
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| New York lawyer Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong) and the young Donald Trump (Sebastian Stan) |
Cohn, a man of extreme-right views who is routinely
litigating against government agencies trying to reverse liberal policies, will
become Donald's mentor, and his teachings will undoubtedly largely shape his
protégé's later behaviour, especially when he launches his political career. In
that apprenticeship period, Cohn taught him his three golden rules, which
he used in his professional practice. First: attack, attack, attack;
second: never admit anything, always deny; and third: declare victory and never
admit defeat. In a way, these rules will set the standard for Trump's business behaviour
and encounters with the judiciary and politics.
The application of these rules also leads to an interesting
situation with axiological and even epistemological connotations: there is no
truth. Or, rather, there is, but it is always my truth versus others who also
claim to be true. This is an interesting position that, taken to its ultimate
consequences, makes it practically impossible to argue in a coherent
sense.
The film transports us very well to the 1980s, marked by Ronald
Reagan's economic policies and the emergence of AIDS as the great threat of
that time. The latter will majorly impact the man who exerted that enormous
formative influence on Trump.
Meeting his first wife, Ivana (Maria Bakalova)
On the level of his relationships with women, the film very well portrays Donald's strange addiction to women of a milieu, if not openly prostitute-like, very close to it. His first wife, Ivana, a not particularly attractive woman, certainly not of the more refined beauty of his current wife, Melania, reveals that at that time of his youth, Trump seemed to be fascinated by a type of woman of low social rank.
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| Donald with his father Fred (Martin Donovan ) |
The Apprentice is certainly a film that we recommend because
it presents in a very accurate way “how it's done” a character that, from the
always lurid world of business, moves into politics carrying with him the same
questionable practices that have made him a mythical figure for many.
The main actors deliver very solid performances; Stan adopts
Trump's mannerisms and gestures very well; Strong, for his part, convincingly
embodies the lawyer Cohn in all his exuberant displays of power and then also
in his downfall. The movie takes a critical approach to the central character
without falling into superficiality or disqualification. And certainly, this
film may also provide a topic of conversation for viewers for a long time.
Running time: 120 min.
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