“The Apprentice – The Trump Story”: The truth about Donald T.?

How was Donald Trump to who he is – that is, to a seriously disturbed person who is rightly described as “weird” in the current election campaign? The work of the Iranian-Danish filmmaker Ali Abbasi (“Holy Spider”) tries to provide an answer to this in a truly breathtaking way and takes us into… New York in the 1970swhere young Donald strives at all costs to live up to the expectations of his overpowering rich father. But how should he make a name for himself and rise to the top? Then he meets him unscrupulous lawyer Roy Cohn and these fateful encounter will change everything.

Not a real biopic

Screenwriter and political journalist Gabriel Sherman wanted to explore a formative phase in Trump's career about which almost nothing was known until now. For Abbasi, who takes advantage of the outsider's perspective due to his origins, the film is neither a “History Channel documentary nor a biopic about Trump”, but rather an intimate study of a very specific chapter in his life. “The Apprentice” represents, so to speak, a key experience with far-reaching consequences.

Apprentice to a wadlbeisser

Cohn was a guy who in Austria would be called a Wadlbeisser: Always in attack modealways looking for weaknesses in his opponents, good friend of Nixon, with contacts in the mafia and not afraid to use blackmail to achieve his goals. Amateur psychologists can develop theories as to why the lawyer, as a Jewish homosexual, had to act so aggressively and had already distinguished himself during the persecution of communists under Senator McCarthy.

In any case, he immediately recognizes potential in Trump and takes him under his protection. Thanks to Cohn's suggestions, the newcomer is shaking up the Big Apple's real estate business and is also suitable for it typical behavior patterns from his later days: always be offensive, deny everything and claim the opposite, always portray yourself as the winner and never admit defeat.

The relationship between the two is weakening Faust and Mephisto think, but also about Frankenstein and his creaturewhich soon grows over his head, or to one Sorcerer's apprenticewho ultimately trumps his master. Consequently, the student-teacher relationship is recently reversed and Trump shows in a particularly devious way how well he has learned Cohn's lessons.

Three strong actors between “Captain America” and “Borat”

Sebastian Stanwho Marvel fans know best as the Winter Soldier from the “Captain America” and “Avengers” films, carries out an almost magical transformation here (of course there is black magic involved, the real Trump would think – and he has to yes, very knowledgeable about this subject). Basically, “The Apprentice” is a captivating three-person piece: In addition to a strong Stan, an equally brilliant one shows up Jeremy Strong (“Succession”), that he has what it takes to be a devilish teacher, but behind whose fragile façade lies great vulnerability (with his jerky head movements he looks like a cross between a cobra and a turtle); and Maria Bakalovawho we all remember best from the second “Borat” film, will also leave a lasting impression as Ivana Trump.

Trump as a cold-blooded monster

Abassi offers a gripping study above Greed for power and ruthlessnessthe mechanisms of which extend far beyond the Trump example presented. He stages the material with incredible accuracy and shows how the young entrepreneur transforms into a monster that affects everyone – whether father, brother, wife or friend – cold-bloodedly stabs them in the back and lets them run into the open knife.

The scariest thing is the mentor's last birthday party: When Cohn, already severely affected by AIDS, sits in a wheelchair, he is shamefully paraded by Trump and fobbed off with a worthless gift. The film can also be very sarcastic: After Cohn's death, Trump has all the objects that the AIDS patient touched disinfected for fear of infection, and parallel to the funeral of the former father figure, we see Trump undergoing cosmetic surgery to the sound of a child's voice undergoes a procedure in which fat is sucked out and the scalp is tightened.

The real Trump threatens to sue

The film in no way claims that everything happened exactly that way, but it exudes complete credibility because it has accurately captured the nature of the main character and does not shy away from controversial scenes (keyword: rape). After all, the work in Cannes caused a standing ovation and brought the real Trump. The director himself is very calm about a threatened lawsuit joked at a press conference: “Everyone talks about the fact that he sues a lot of people – but they don't talk about his success rate.” Abassi's success rate has increased by a full 100 percent thanks to “The Apprentice”.

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