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- DCM Film Distribution
- 2 h
- DCM Film Distribution
- 2 h
Summary The Apprentice charts a young Donald Trump’s ascent to power through a Faustian deal with the influential right-wing lawyer and political fixer Roy Cohn.
Directed By: Ali Abbasi
Written By: Gabriel Sherman
- DCM Film Distribution
- 2 h
- DCM Film Distribution
- 2 h
The Apprentice
62
User Score
User reviews are not available yet
Summary The Apprentice charts a young Donald Trump’s ascent to power through a Faustian deal with the influential right-wing lawyer and political fixer Roy Cohn.
Directed By: Ali Abbasi
Written By: Gabriel Sherman
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 20 Critic Reviews
62
65% Positive
13 Reviews
13 Reviews
35% Mixed
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 20 Critic Reviews
62
65% Positive
13 Reviews
13 Reviews
35% Mixed
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
The performances are stellar, the pacing both restrained and engaging, the realization of Cohn and Trump’s world is top notch, and the dynamic between the two is as captivating as any. For those able to take the film on its own terms, to be in equal parts fascinated and repelled by the behaviors of those captured therein, The Apprentice stands as a masterclass in observing this compelling, consequential mentor/protégé relationship—one that continues to shape global headlines.
A cinematic Rorschach test, it’s more likely to reaffirm your views on the man than challenge them.
Outside of watching modern Trump characteristics being absorbed from the worst influences around him, it rarely has the insight you’d hope for from a biopic centered on one of the defining political figures of the 21st century.
Abbasi isn’t a subtle filmmaker, and his need to provoke sometimes undermines his points; his previous movie, the serial-killer thriller Holy Spider (2022), was a commentary on social misogyny that inadvertently courted the very thing it was trying to criticize. Here, the blunt force works in his film’s favor.
The Apprentice lacks the gravitas or impact of [Abbasi's] earlier films, but it’s a pleasing enough doodle thanks to Stan, Strong, and a lot of period wigs.
For its first half, “The Apprentice” is kind of a knockout: the inside look at how Trump evolved that so many of us have imagined for so long, and seeing it play out is both convincing and riveting. Yet I have an issue with the movie, and it all pivots around the mystery of Trump. I don’t think “The Apprentice” ever penetrates it.
Director Ali Abbasi has given us fascinating monsters in the past with Holy Spider and Border but the monstrosity here is almost sentimental, a cartoon Xeroxed from many other satirical Trump takes and knowing prophetic echoes of his political future. It’s basically a far less original picture.
User Reviews
tbd
Production Company
Scythia Films,
Profile Pictures,
Tailored Films,
LB Entertainment,
AC Films,
DR Danish Broadcasting,
Film i Väst,
Fís Éireann / Screen Ireland,
Gidden Media,
Head Gear Films,
Kinematics,
Metrol Technology,
Project Infinity,
Rich Spirit,
Rocket Science,
The Danish Film Institute,
Wild7Films
Duration 2 h
Awards
Cannes Film Festival
• 1 Nomination