The Apprentice

O retrato divertido do jovem Donald Trump como um ambicioso desenvolvedor com um enorme apetite pelos negócios. Não como um político. A esposa Ivana, o pai de Trump, o mafioso Tony Salerno, Andy Warhol e principalmente o advogado Roy Cohn, que o ajudou a alcançar o topo do desenvolvimento imobiliário de Nova York - o filme apresenta personagens importantes da vida de Trump com um aspeto autêntico e fresco e credibilidade documental, no formato televisivo 4:3, muitas vezes até com interferência de VHS na imagem. Não tínhamos experimentado essa precisão na representação dos anos 80 e 90 em um longa-metragem há muito tempo. O diretor Ali Abbasi conduz os personagens pelo sonho americano megalomaníaco, não apontando o dedo para nenhum deles, mas retratando-os como pessoas com as suas prioridades específicas e fraquezas. Sebastian Stan como Trump é bom e Jeremy Strong como Cohn é excelente. Apenas não esperem Scorsese, a quem o glamour no estilo de Casino cairia melhor. The Apprentice tem o tom de um filme televisivo. [Cannes FF] (24/05/2024)

Ali Abbasi does some solid directing work when he tells Trump’s story in a stylised way with a variable period patina and doesn’t allow himself to be tempted by the potential for an exceedingly glamorous spectacle about the (morally) poor rich. He has self-assured actors and good rhythm in fragments, but Gabriel Sherman’s screenplay is really very superficial and cautiously skims over situations. The film thus lacks a greater catch beyond summarising facts and conjectures that are already generally known. Fortunately, the film has a great dominant level with the character of Roy Cohn, uncompromisingly portrayed by Jeremy Strong, who maniacally immerses himself in the role. Sebastian Stan gets the job done, but he really doesn’t stand much of a chance against the portrait of the man who created the pragmatic monster, who in turn devours his creator and takes only the worst from him. Cohn’s swan song is touching and devastating, which stands out in a film that is otherwise “just” a decent and non-tabloidish biopic. (11/09/2024)

The Apprentice offers a dispassionate look at the rise of Donald Trump and his transformation from a naive and bland underdog to an egotistical, spineless, narcissistic monster. Sebastian Stan, as Trump, is absolutely superb in his role, but perhaps even a hair better is Jeremy Strong as the lawyer Roy Cohn, to whom Donald objectively owes his rise, even though he is probably a stranger to the word "owed". Jeremy Strong was a great choice, this type of role suits him, as we could see already in Succession. The film is engaging and doesn't bore for a second, but I do have one huge complaint, and that is the choice of actress Maria Bakalova for the role of Ivana Zelníčková. I understand that we all sound the same to westerners from the east, and probably look the same... but I just found her Russian accent and appearance off-putting. And it was so confusing at times, I was like, wait a minute, is that supposed to be Ivana? Don't tell me it couldn't have been otherwise... [Festival de Cannes 2024] (24/05/2024)