"The Apprentice" - Almost makes you feel bad for the Devil.

Josh
Mar 17, 2025
6 min read

Updated: Mar 28, 2025

Ali Abbasi (2024)

It's gonna be the best, the best movie in the whole world.

I realise I know nothing about Donald Trump. All I really knew about the guy was he started a business with a small loan of one million dollars from his Dad, he was the host of the TV reality show The Apprentice and he just put a tariff on my home country of Australia. That’s pretty much it. His history before Presidency is an absolute mystery to me. His personality, way of life, and relationships at a young age are a complete blindspot so I found it hard to separate the reality of what this tyrant’s early life was like next to reality. There were points at the start of the movie where I was feeling sorry for the young Trump (Sebastian Stan) only to then pull myself back and remember who he turned into. As goes for the puppet master behind the rise of the modern-day Trump Empire, Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong). I had no idea who this man was but like Trump, you gain a level of sympathy towards the man who feels cheated out of efforts. But then I did some research toward’s who this man was and fuck him.

As referenced, there were moments I was rooting for this down-on-his-luck schmuck trying to fit in with people who were leagues above him, although he’s not a complete dud when we first meet him. It’s not like we watched him go through Miliary school or watching his Dad, Fred Trump (Martin Donavan), struggling to make ends meet. The lowest we see him is as a goon walking door to door to collect rent cash in hand throughout the low-income residency, “Trump Villiage”. We’re watching the angel Lucifer before he becomes the Devil. We see him in a bar with a young woman trying to impress her with all the people who are in the room. He doesn’t know them, but he’s just trying to seem important surrounded by success that he is desperately trying to reach. This is where he meets Roy Cohn, the ruthless lawyer staring at him across the room like a lion staring down a skittish antelope. And like the Devil, Roy plants the seed in Trump’s head of life within his inner circle.

As we watch their parasitic relationship grow the foundation of the man we know today, who is miraculously running a country, and the values he has that built his career. We bear witness to a couple who are willing to do whatever it takes to get ahead. One who pretends to root for the American dream, knowing full well the dream favours those who know what strings to pull within the twisted legal system. Which lawyers, judges, and city officials to have blackmail on. Or who’s pockets to crawl inside of. Or someone willing to ignore their morals getting in the way. It’s the American dream for those who are willing to exploit outdated systems. Outdated systems that didn’t work in the 70s and 80s but can still be felt today.

These exploits of power are exampled as Trump attempts to rebuild the rundown Commodore Hotel and get it done with a tax abatement via blackmail. As much to the dismay of the citizens of New York, it’s twisted as a positive thing for the community financially. This takes place in my favourite environment, disgusting 70’s New York. Even during the day we see the crimeridden environment as a man offers his wife to Trump during a business deal with piles of garbage filling the background. Visually to match the style of the period, various filters and effects are layered over the picture to give it a grainy look. This effect really stands out when it transitions into the 80s, as the filters changed to replicate a VHS look. It’s subtle enough that people might not notice and it would’ve been cooler if it wasn’t just a post effect, but a nice touch nonetheless.

Trump continues to take advantage of these systems which leads to an area of the film I felt could’ve been explored a little bit more. While these luxury buildings are under development it alluded to money issues. Leading Trump to attempt to chip into his sibling’s trust funds by tricking his father into signing it over. Yet the money issues subplot feels quickly rushed aside, although it felt like an opportunity to have Trump down a peg. Again, I had to keep reminding myself that this man got nothing but success depending on how you define it.

There are moments of humanisation between the two devils. Trump’s brother, Fred Jr. (Charlie Carrick) acts as a beacon of morality, taking a respectable job as a pilot to the dismay of his Father. As a substance abuser, Trump’s pride pushes away any cries for help that lead to him taking his own life. And we see the toll it takes on Trump. We’re reminded that Lucifer was once an angel. Even Roy Coln, who famously denied his sickness being because of aids until his death, is humanised at the end. He turns into the victim, a man at the mercy of his creation. Yet, in a strange way, I still very much cared about the outcome of the characters. It’s one of those examples of still being intrigued and sucked into the unlikeableness of the main character.

Sebastian Stan played up that unlikableness to a distractingly good amount. His performance of subtle Trumperisms at the start captured core characteristics early on that had yet to solidify. Once the confidence and media personality version of Trump started to grow, the performance got more over the top but in a good way. Not so much that it felt like an SNL comedy skit but enough to where Stan disappeared and the essence of Trump disguised his face like a mirage. He felt like Trump from the stuttered hyperbolic speech patterns to the perked duck lips. Appraisal for performances also extends to the secondary leads. Jeremy Strong keep a stone face blank demeanour throughout, solidifying the lack of emotion toward the moral implications of what he is doing. It’s only when the repercussions of his actions affect his loved ones and himself do we get glimpses of sorrow in his eyes. Maria Bakalova plays Ivana Trump, another noteworthy performance as she takes on the role of a strong upfront woman getting broken down to nothing but a prop. A visual spectacle who has to wear a happy persona like an expensive fur coat when surrounded by cameras.

With all biopics, facts normally come at the cost of entertainment. From what I could find, most moments were based on some type of true event. Including the more radical scene of the sexual assault of Ivana from Trurmp, referenced in a divorce hearing that he had forced himself upon her. And with scenes like this, I was curious about what Trump had to say. Of course, he couldn’t keep quiet about it. He called the film out as “Fake and Classless”. Setting it out as a conspiracy that the film was designed to hurt his image, (yeah, no shit), and was made to sabotage his campaign for the presidential race. Going as far as to have cease and desist letters getting sent around at the time of film festival screenings. Here was a direct quote from his campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung courtesy of Varitety, “We will be filing a lawsuit to address the blatantly false assertions from these pretend filmmakers. This garbage is pure fiction which sensationalizes lies that have been long debunked. As with the illegal Biden Trials, this is election interference by Hollywood elites, who know that President Trump will retake the White House and beat their candidate of choice because nothing they have done has worked.” Even if a lot of the scenes and scenarios are amped for entertainment (or shock value) purposes. This reaction is one that you can’t help but think, how much actually lands within the realm of non-fiction. And when the movie does reference real-life critiques towards Turmp they feel like “pause for applause moments.” Like when a reporter asks him what if you were to become president, or dropping the line “Make America Great Again”. The most off-putting callout was during the sexual assault scene where Ivana says he looks like an orange. That felt like an inappropriate time to throw in a joke.

As biopics go, it’s always best when a writer (Gabriel Sherman) and/or director (Ali Abbasi) choose to focus on a portion of his life. This could’ve easily been a rushed and bloated race to the 2016 election. As we’ve passed the wave of corporate biopics, Flamin’ Hot (2023), Unfrosted (2024), or Air (2023), it’s refreshing to see one that realises they’re making a movie about a villain. Albitit villains who have a level of humanisation, even though it feels pretty gross to feel bad for Satan and his minion.