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    • 'The Apprentice' review: An entertaining character study that comes with the good, the bad and the ugly

    Actors Sebastian Stan (as Donald Trump) and Jeremy Strong (as Roy Cohn) shown during a scene from The Apprentice movie, in this undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO Pief Weyman Actors Sebastian Stan (as Donald Trump) and Jeremy Strong (as Roy Cohn) shown during a scene from The Apprentice movie, in this undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO Pief Weyman
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    In 1972, photographer Robert Frank was given carte-blanche to follow and film The Rolling Stones on their American tour. The result was a film deemed unreleasable by the band, but not because of the overwhelming amount of sex, drugs and rock 鈥榥 roll on display. Rumour has it the band banned the film because Frank unblinkingly showed the tedium of life on the road and revealed the real lives of the band members.

    It's hardly the high-glam life that would be expected from the 鈥淲orld鈥檚 Greatest Rock and Roll Band,鈥 but these are the scenes that humanize the group and put a pinprick in the bubble of fame that surrounded the Stones in their glory days.

    Director Jim Jarmusch said, 鈥淚t makes you think that being a rock star is one of the last things you鈥檇 ever want to do.鈥

    I mention all of this because I think there is a correlation between the Rolling Stones film (whose title I can鈥檛 print here) and 鈥淭he Apprentice.鈥

    The Trump campaign unsuccessfully worked to suppress this film, and I would guess鈥攁nd that鈥檚 all this is鈥攖hey wanted it shelved not because of the harder-edged portrait of Trump in the film鈥檚 second half, which falls in line with the candidate鈥檚 strongman image, but because of the softer, more humanist tone of the first hour.

    When we first meet Trump (Sebastian Stan) he鈥檚 a desperate man, going door-to-door in his father鈥檚 buildings to collect rents from tenants who clearly loathe him, a lawsuit looms that could potentially bankrupt the Trump family and his brother Freddy is an alcoholic who is slowly losing his battle with the bottle.

    Enter Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong), a lawyer Trump affectionately calls 鈥渆vil incarnate.鈥 The prosecutor in the espionage trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg and chief counsel to Senator Joseph McCarthy's investigations of suspected communists, he had a fearsome, take-no-prisoners reputation. The lawyer took Trump under his wing, greasing the wheels for him socially and professionally in 1970s New York City.

    鈥淵ou鈥檙e the client,鈥 says Cohn, 鈥渂ut you work for me. You do what I say, when I say.鈥

    The ambitious Trump begins as a lump of clay, but is soon molded into an effigy of Roy Cohn, merciless in business and in life.

    Julianne Forde, from left, Ruth Treacy, Maria Bakalova, director Ali Abbasi, Sebastian Stan, and Amy Baer pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Apprentice' at the 77th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, on May 20, 2024. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP, File)

    鈥淭he Apprentice鈥 is several things. It鈥檚 the making of MAGA. It鈥檚 a story of unchecked ambition. It鈥檚 a cautionary tale. It鈥檚 a period piece of New York City in the go-go 1980s.

    Mostly though, it鈥檚 an entertaining character study of one of the world鈥檚 most famous people that comes with the good, the bad and the ugly.

    The good? Stan, who (mostly) avoids doing an 鈥淪NL鈥 style Trump caricature. In the last hour, when he has absorbed Cohn鈥檚 lessons and the student has surpassed the master, he鈥檚 recognizably Trump.

    This image shows Jeremy Strong, left, and Sebastian Stan in a scene from the film 'The Apprentice.' (Pief Weyman/Briarcliff Entertainment via AP)

    Before that, he is more fully rounded as a character. There are flashes of compassion when he interacts with Freddy, frustration at being under his father鈥檚 thumb and vulnerability. When he becomes the blustery Trump we鈥檙e more familiar with, it becomes less interesting, but still avoids imitation.

    As Cohn, Strong is serpentine, to the point of predatorially flicking his tongue. Eyelids at half mast, he exudes maximum confidence in his ability to control every situation. When the tide turns for him, Strong manages to create empathy for a character who never had any in real life. When he complains to Trump that he鈥檚 "lost the last trace of decency you ever had,鈥 the words hit hard.

    The bad? While Maria Bakalova, who plays Trump鈥檚 first wife Ivana, is credible in the role, it feels a bit cheeky to cast her, given her headline-making encounter with Trump associate Rudy Giuliani in 鈥淏orat Subsequent Moviefilm.鈥

    Maria Bakalova, left, and Sebastian Stan are seen in a scene from the film 'The Apprentice.' (Pief Weyman/Briarcliff Entertainment via AP)

    The ugly? The casual venality on display. It鈥檚 the kind that powerful people use to intimidate and control the people in their lives, and it is gruesome. It鈥檚 an ugly glimpse into the halls of power where cold-blooded mercenaries like Cohn will do anything to win.

    There鈥檚 also a graphic and cruel scene of sexual assault, unflinchingly captured by director Ali Abbasi鈥檚 camera.

    Donald Trump dismisses 鈥淭he Apprentice鈥 as 鈥減ure fiction鈥 and for sure it isn鈥檛 the whole truth and nothing but the truth. An opening title card acknowledges that, announcing that 鈥渟ome events have been fictionalized for dramatic effect,鈥 but it does capture the tenor of the times and the dynamic between Trump and Cohn. It鈥檚 an origin story, and while you may not learn anything new, it paints a potent picture of pure ambition run amok.

    3 1/2 out of 5 stars

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