‘The Apprentice’ didn’t trump box office, underwhelming review | Arts & Entertainment

‘The Apprentice’ didn’t trump box office, underwhelming review | Arts & Entertainment

While I did not know what to expect going into “The Apprentice,” the biographical retelling of Donald Trump’s rise to power, I walked away feeling underwhelmed. The movie had its moments but there are parts that drag on and can’t be described as anything but boring. It fell short on many fronts. While it had the potential to be engaging, the pacing ultimately made it hard to stay invested. 

Visually, the movie was stunning. The use of grain to age the film and add to the overall visual aesthetic was a delight. It gave it a retro and documentary-like feel. The scenes of partying at American lawyer and prosecutor Roy Cohn’s (Jeremy Strong) house attracted the eye with the effective usage of red lighting, capturing the chaos of rich white people partying. 

Sebastian Stan’s portrayal of Donald Trump was a highlight of the film. His mannerisms and facial expressions were spot-on. His acting was phenomenal and it’s uncanny how much he was able to embody Trump. That being said, there are moments where his accent seemed to slip towards the beginning of the film and while this isn’t the worst flaw, it was distracting at times. 

The film did a wonderful job of showing why Trump is the way he is today, especially with the influence that Cohn had on his life. One line in the film that stuck out to me was Cohn telling Trump to, “Deny, deflect, delay.” When mentoring him, we see Cohn instill a cutthroat and win-at-all-cost mentality that defines Trump’s public persona to this day. Watching this dynamic unfold was fascinating. It’s clear that Trump took all of these lessons from an extremely flawed man to heart and made Cohn’s views his own. We also see how Trump’s insecurities affect the decisions he makes. 

I don’t believe the movie was made to attack Trump. There are controversial aspects to the movie that are just a blunt depiction of what actually happened. While people are raging over these scenes, they are all based on truth from court records and more. If the film skipped over these parts, the plot wouldn’t make as much sense and it wouldn’t be as genuine. Most films like this try to skip over the horrendous things the subject did and I appreciate the filmmakers for showing the full story—flaws included. 

The movie attempts to humanize Trump, but it’s challenging to sympathize with a rich, privileged character like him. But as it goes on we see Trump transforming more and more into a persona. When watching most of the movie I felt unexcited. Certain scenes lasted longer than they should have while others were too fast. It is hard to root for anyone in the film which I think adds to its tedious nature. There are some funny one-liners, but nothing that had me laughing out loud. 

Ultimately, I would not spend money on seeing this in theatres. Political affiliation aside, this movie is just dull. It is hard to sympathize with Trump when the film is trying hard to get you to (unless of course, you are a rich, white man). If you’re interested in watching it, I’d suggest waiting for it to be available on streaming, so you could just fast-forward through the never ending, mind-dulling scenes. 

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of The Torch.

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