But in its own way, theirs is a “Star Is Born” dynamic: As Trump rises, Cohn falls on harder times, and the protégé who was once so easily impressed now seems sickened to spend time with someone no longer on his level. By the time we reach the 1980s, Trump has married his first wife, Ivana (Maria Bakalova), and broken ground on his crowning real estate achievement, Trump Tower. Still, Cohn won’t be dispatched from his high-flying life quite so easily.
Is the movie sympathetic to Trump? Not exactly, though it labors to at least explain him. At first, Stan’s performance feels surprisingly toned down: Though young Trump is certainly full of himself, he seems more abashed in Cohn’s outsize presence. But as Trump gets hooked on success (and speedlike diet pills), Stan transforms into the man we know today, who leads with bluster and arrogance. “The Apprentice” suggests he’s little more than a MAGA magpie, stealing his famous “Make America Great Again” phrase from a Reagan operative and even modeling his orange complexion on Cohn, who liked to tan himself to a radioactive umber.
After its Cannes premiere, critics gave “The Apprentice” mostly favorable notices, with Deadline calling it “smart, sharp and surprising” and The Hollywood Reporter praising Stan and Strong as “superb.” But will audiences want to watch a movie about Trump in a year when the former president’s re-election bid and multiple trials continue to dominate headlines?
I spoke with buyers who worried that the film could end up in a sort of no man’s land where liberal audiences aren’t inclined to see it and conservative moviegoers will rail against its depiction of Trump. Already, one of the film’s financiers has allegedly tried to thwart the release of “The Apprentice”: Variety reported that the former Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder, a friend of Trump’s, was incensed after watching an early cut of the film that he perceived to be unflattering to the former president. (Kinematics, one of the companies backing the film, denied that Snyder was involved.)
A scene in which Trump sexually assaults Ivana was said to be a sticking point for Snyder, and will surely be one of the film’s most talked-about moments. In it, Trump rebuffs his wife when she tries to seduce him and bluntly confesses that he’s no longer attracted to her. But when she begins to disparage his looks in return, Trump angrily throws her to the ground and assaults her. (Though Ivana accused Trump of rape during their divorce deposition, she walked back the claim in 1993; she died in 2022.)
