Cinema Tweets’s review published on Letterboxd:
I’m having a difficult time reviewing The Apprentice. This is a film that’s honestly got me torn right down the middle & is one of the hardest films I’ve had to review since creating this account. If you’re wondering why I gave this film four stars despite being so torn, I can explain further below, but for now I’ll say this: Sebastian Stan & Jeremy Strong are too brilliant & too exceptional for me to give this film anything but a four star rating.
Over the years, I’ve tried my hardest not to give movies three stars. Giving a film three stars sort of feels like punting a decision on the film back to the audience. It’s like if a lawyer gave you a 50/50 shot at winning a case. Don’t you pay for a little more decisiveness? I say that to say this, which is that The Apprentice is as close to a three star, down-the-middle film I can remember. There’s good & there’s bad, but ultimately more of the former.
Here’s the bad: my biggest issue with this movie is I do not know who this movie was made for or who the audience is supposed to be here. If you like Donald Trump, why would you watch this? The Apprentice depicts the worst version you could imagine of Trump, if one is to take the film’s presentation as all based in fact. If you dislike Donald Trump, why would you watch this? I can’t imagine someone who hates Trump choosing to spend 2 hours with Trump in the context of a film. I think this movie came out at the absolute worst possible time & would’ve been better suited for years or decades down the road. Here’s more bad: the film’s message is that Donald Trump is the worst person on Earth and Roy Cohn taught him how to be such a person. But the film does not explain why Roy Cohn took Trump under his wing to begin with- this is something that was never really made clear. Are we just supposed to believe Roy saw Trump and saw potential and was like “sure, I’ll mentor him!”. It’s a massive plot hole that the film doesn’t do a strong enough job explaining. The timing of the film’s release and the glaring plot holes are its biggest weaknesses.
Here’s the good: the performances. Two of the best of the year. Stan & Strong each deserve Oscar consideration because each of their characters transform. Stan’s Trump goes up- up a gold staircase to fame, fortune, and plastic surgery. Strong’s Cohn goes down- down a deathly sick rabbit hole where the IRS takes everything he owns. It’s this metamorphosis between each character as they pass one another that makes this movie. I will campaign heavily for each to receive Oscar consideration. Beyond the performances, the bottom line is this movie is pretty entertaining. It flies- you don’t feel the two hours, the filmmaking is really strong, and it’s easy to digest.
Ultimately, the good outweighs the bad but man, this is a film that can go either way depending on your view of the world. At day’s end, I recommend this because the performances were so brilliant.
Cinema Tweets liked this review
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