The Apprentice
Robert E. Acuña

Review by Robert E. Acuña Patron

The Apprentice 2024

★★★

Watched 05 Nov 2024

America is doomed.

'The Apprentice' is a gross villain's origin story that showcases time & time again that evil isn't born...it is taught.

After a disastrous run at multiple festivals, Ali Abbasi's latest film was almost abandoned by Hollywood before being rescued by multiple independent studios. But can you blame them?

If it isn't obvious, the film's subject matter stars a stinky, radioactive orangutan, and even attempting to make a film about him for mainstream audiences seems misguided on paper.

But director Ali Abbasi isn't seeking to humanize this traitor or absolve him of his lengthy crimes. This film showcases the multiple ways that Ding-Dongle was molded by the environment around him and how refusing to condemn him early on is how we got ourselves into this mess now.

From his shitty father, unloving mother, and evil mentor, when a monster is ignored, it only festers & evolves.

What I loved about 'The Apprentice' that I wasn't expecting at all is the underlying gay-panic that is clearly within him. It's so damn obvious and if you haven't been paying attention to everything going on, it doesn't even stop at Mr. Wig-gles, the whole party is filled with self-hating gays.

You don't seek to destroy something innocent unless there is something deeper underneath and considering the fact that Grindr crashed during the RNC this year, that says everything you need to know.

'The Apprentice' isn't as scathing as 'Vice' was toward Dick Cheney, but it sure as hell paints a nasty picture of America's most influential bigot and how we got here.

Sebastian Stan is a wonderful actor but if I have to be completely honest, casting him to play the titular "Apprentice" seems a bit too flattering in hindsight. Seb is just naturally likable and it kinda softens the nastiness of this film unintentionally.

Meanwhile, Jeremy Strong as Roy Cohn is pitch-perfect. He is repulsive, hideous, and it's becoming clear why Dumpy loved him so much. He's the father/lover he never had, and now he's turned his literal image to honor this shitstain.

'The Apprentice' isn't mindblowing, nor the ruthless teardown I was hoping to see but it does shed some light on the seedy corners of modern-day American politics.

Much like Hydra from 'The Winter Soldier', batting an eye & ignoring the threat is just as bad as condoning it & if left unchecked, it only grows.

Block or Report

Robert liked these reviews

All
' ].join(''); if ( adsScript && adsScript === 'bandsintown' && adsPlatforms && ((window.isIOS && adsPlatforms.indexOf("iOS") >= 0) || (window.isAndroid && adsPlatforms.indexOf("Android") >= 0)) && adsLocations && adsMode && ( (adsMode === 'include' && adsLocations.indexOf(window.adsLocation) >= 0) || (adsMode === 'exclude' && adsLocations.indexOf(window.adsLocation) == -1) ) ) { var opts = { artist: "", song: "", adunit_id: 100005950, div_id: "cf_async_274a2f6f-f39d-4d64-8a8e-78aeab3bbdd4" }; adUnit.id = opts.div_id; if (target) { target.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', adUnit); } else { tag.insertAdjacentElement('afterend', adUnit); } var c=function(){cf.showAsyncAd(opts)};if(typeof window.cf !== 'undefined')c();else{cf_async=!0;var r=document.createElement("script"),s=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];r.async=!0;r.src="//srv.tunefindforfans.com/fruits/apricots.js";r.readyState?r.onreadystatechange=function(){if("loaded"==r.readyState||"complete"==r.readyState)r.onreadystatechange=null,c()}:r.onload=c;s.parentNode.insertBefore(r,s)}; } else { adUnit.id = 'pw-274a2f6f-f39d-4d64-8a8e-78aeab3bbdd4'; adUnit.className = 'pw-div -tile300x250 -alignleft -bottommargin'; adUnit.setAttribute('data-pw-' + (renderMobile ? 'mobi' : 'desk'), 'med_rect_btf'); if (target) { target.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', adUnit); } else { tag.insertAdjacentElement('afterend', adUnit); } window.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', (event) => { adUnit.insertAdjacentHTML('afterend', kicker); window.ramp.que.push(function () { window.ramp.addTag('pw-274a2f6f-f39d-4d64-8a8e-78aeab3bbdd4'); }); }, { once: true }); } } tag.remove(); })(document.getElementById('script-274a2f6f-f39d-4d64-8a8e-78aeab3bbdd4'));
' ].join(''); if ( adsScript && adsScript === 'bandsintown' && adsPlatforms && ((window.isIOS && adsPlatforms.indexOf("iOS") >= 0) || (window.isAndroid && adsPlatforms.indexOf("Android") >= 0)) && adsLocations && adsMode && ( (adsMode === 'include' && adsLocations.indexOf(window.adsLocation) >= 0) || (adsMode === 'exclude' && adsLocations.indexOf(window.adsLocation) == -1) ) ) { var opts = { artist: "", song: "", adunit_id: 100005950, div_id: "cf_async_8ba84396-d1e8-4f8e-a214-5a5bfe0936f5" }; adUnit.id = opts.div_id; if (target) { target.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', adUnit); } else { tag.insertAdjacentElement('afterend', adUnit); } var c=function(){cf.showAsyncAd(opts)};if(typeof window.cf !== 'undefined')c();else{cf_async=!0;var r=document.createElement("script"),s=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];r.async=!0;r.src="//srv.tunefindforfans.com/fruits/apricots.js";r.readyState?r.onreadystatechange=function(){if("loaded"==r.readyState||"complete"==r.readyState)r.onreadystatechange=null,c()}:r.onload=c;s.parentNode.insertBefore(r,s)}; } else { adUnit.id = 'pw-8ba84396-d1e8-4f8e-a214-5a5bfe0936f5'; adUnit.className = 'pw-div'; adUnit.setAttribute('data-pw-' + (renderMobile ? 'mobi' : 'desk'), 'sky_btf'); if (target) { target.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', adUnit); } else { tag.insertAdjacentElement('afterend', adUnit); } window.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', (event) => { adUnit.insertAdjacentHTML('afterend', kicker); window.ramp.que.push(function () { window.ramp.addTag('pw-8ba84396-d1e8-4f8e-a214-5a5bfe0936f5'); }); }, { once: true }); } } tag.remove(); })(document.getElementById('script-8ba84396-d1e8-4f8e-a214-5a5bfe0936f5'));