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Ali Abbasi, the director of The Apprentice, said his film does not take sides, which is a bold claim as his film is about Donald J. Trump’s (played by Sebastian Stan) ascension with the help of lawyer Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong). If anything, it proves it is impossible to portray Trump sympathetically: no politics, no opinions, it is what it is. His antics are repulsive and exactly what you would expect. But here’s the thing, which is why Abbasi considers his film apolitical – for those who like Trump, that’s not a flaw. It is a feature.

The film follows Trump as he prepares to fight the state government on the accusation of discriminating against his African American tenants and his grandiose ideas of building luxury apartments in the heart of rundown Manhattan. He’s naif but dedicated at the start. Cohn sees enough in the young go-getter to take him under his wing and teach him the ropes, which consist of three straightforward rules: one, always attack. Two, deny everything. Three, never admit defeat. And that alone is enough to turn on the light in the audience’s head. “So this is where he came from; this is the beginning of everything.”

Suddenly, Trump becomes a confident cannibal, the personification of American excess: no taste, no intellectualism, pure unabashed hubris, which is precisely how we see Trump on the world stage in 2024.

He meets Ivana (Maria Bakalova), builds a fortress of yes people around him to vindicate every one of his moves, and eventually treats the world around him like his own sandbox. There’s no downfall because we know what’s going to happen. There’s no comeuppance because one of the three rules he abides by would make it impossible.

There’s nothing in The Apprentice that feels fresh or new beyond showing the influence of Cohn in Trump’s persona. The problem is that Donald Trump is not an exciting protagonist for us to follow. I don’t mean he’s dislikable; I mean that he’s a walking ego figurine with no leverage for growth. The story of Donald Trump is just the flabbergasting rise of a man with no shame. Cohn’s is much more interesting – an almost Shakespearean tragedy of a man hit by his own arrogance, powerless to even fight the monster he created. It’s Frankenstein.

Strong proves he’s one of the most excitingly serious actors working today. He gives himself to the role with complete dedication, which I haven’t seen since Daniel Day-Lewis. He plays Cohn half mimicking his mannerisms, half breathing curiosity and personality into his character. It’s disappointing that he’s not left much more to work with. For example, the mystery of why Cohn took a shine on Trump. Abbasi brushes over the reasons partially because we don’t know what they were, nor will we ever.

But a good film takes artistic liberties if that helps provide context. And Abbasi doesn’t even stay neutral in this – he hints that Cohn could’ve been attracted to Trump or behaved like that would’ve been part of the reason. And how much more interesting would it have been if Abbasi had just seen Trump as naive and dumb, with enough money to build some sense of power, which then Cohn could profit from himself?

Instead, Abbasi makes apparent winks to the audience while giving him the lowest common denominator. After all, this is a film that starts with Nixon’s “I am not a crook“ speech, and the big climax intercuts Cohn’s funeral with Trump having liposuction – probably the most effective scene, emotionally at least, of the whole film, is also indicative of the level of subtlety The Apprentice works on.

Abbasi is a great director, but I struggled to trust his impulses. Two hours to tell me Donald Trump is morally decadent feels like a waste of time. Where’s the reflection upon the society that saw him gestate. What does it say about America or the world? Where is this incessant quest for power, that uniquely American trait, fit? Where is Icarus in all of this? 

I wrote in my notes on the film, “No focus,” and I stand by that. If there are entertaining scenes —like a party at Cohn where Trump meets Andy Warhol—they lead nowhere and add nothing. Even the legal fight with the state goes away like it means nothing. The moment Abbasi gets his money shot—Trump behaving like Trump does—he quickly moves to the next target. 

In the end, I get Abbasi. What I see as insensitive stubbornness, Trump’s followers will see as dedicating resilience. Abbasi tried to give everyone what they wanted while still being so openly entertaining.

Verdict: 2.5 out of 5
It’s worth it for Jeremy Strong’s performance alone, and for those who still haven’t had enough of coverage of Donald J. Trump.