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Yes—Sebastian Stan is a major strength of The Apprentice, Ali Abbasi’s 2024 dramatic film about Donald Trump’s early rise and his relationship with lawyer and political fixer Roy Cohn. Critics praised Stan’s portrayal, though the film’s character study has also been described as simplistic. It is a dramatization, not a documentary or the reality-TV competition series.
What is The Apprentice about?
The film follows a young Donald Trump as he tries to establish himself in New York real estate and becomes closely tied to Roy Cohn, the influential lawyer who serves as his mentor. The Festival de Cannes describes it as a story of Trump’s ascent through a “Faustian deal” with Cohn. That relationship is the film’s dramatic center.
Directed by Ali Abbasi and written by Gabriel Sherman, the 2024 feature stars Sebastian Stan as Trump, Jeremy Strong as Cohn, and Maria Bakalova as Ivana Trump. Cannes lists Canada, Denmark, and Ireland as production countries and gives a runtime of 120 minutes. Festival de Cannes film listing
How good is Sebastian Stan as Donald Trump?
Stan’s performance is the film’s most consistently praised element in the cited reviews. The Associated Press called him “a remarkably good Trump,” while also describing Strong as “chillingly riveting” as Cohn. Director Abbasi told the AP, “I still don’t know exactly how he did it.” These are critical and filmmaker assessments, not evidence of a particular acting technique or a claim that Stan reproduces every aspect of Trump’s real-life mannerisms. Associated Press, October 10, 2024
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- The Apprentice [Blu-Ray]
Strong’s Cohn gives Stan a compelling counterpart. The AP’s account of the film’s premise and its cast comments points to the mentor-pupil dynamic as central to the performances: Cohn shapes the young Trump’s approach to power, while Stan’s role tracks the person becoming that pupil. Strong told the AP that Cohn’s “defiance of reality, and his denial of reality” were signature elements he passed on to Trump. That is Strong’s interpretation of Cohn’s influence, not an independently established historical conclusion.
Does the film offer a probing portrait?
Its acting can be more persuasive than its analysis. Rotten Tomatoes’ critics consensus says the film gives Stan “the chance to shine” in a “simplistic yet entertaining foray” into the world of a young Trump. Its audience summary likewise highlights Stan and Strong’s performances, calling the film a character study. Taken together, those assessments suggest a film that works best as a performance-led drama, while leaving room to question how deeply it examines its subject. Rotten Tomatoes: The Apprentice
Rank #2
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- Apprentice To Murder
The AP reported that the film drew controversy after its Cannes appearance and faced difficulty finding distribution before Briarcliff Entertainment stepped forward. That release history is useful context, but it does not prove or disprove the truth of any scene. The film’s dramatic choices should be distinguished from documented history, particularly where it depicts private conversations or motives.
How accurate is The Apprentice?
The available sources establish the film’s premise and its principal characters, but they do not verify its scenes one by one. It is safest to approach it as a dramatization of the Trump–Cohn relationship rather than as a documentary record. Viewers assessing a specific incident should compare that scene with reliable, scene-specific historical documentation; broad claims that the film is wholly accurate or wholly fabricated are not established by the sources cited here.
Rank #3
- Factory sealed DVD
Is The Apprentice worth watching?
If you are interested in a two-hander built around Stan’s Trump and Strong’s Cohn, the performances are a clear reason to consider it. If you want a comprehensive or rigorously documented account of Trump’s early life, the cited critical assessment of the film as simplistic is a reason to temper expectations. Cannes lists the runtime as 120 minutes; Apple TV lists 2 hr 2 min, so listings vary slightly. Apple TV also identifies it as an R-rated 2024 release, but its catalog and transaction options depend on region. Apple TV listing
For physical editions, Metropolitan Films documents DVD and Blu-ray releases and lists bonus interviews with Abbasi, Stan, Strong, and Bakalova. Its listing is for the French market; edition details, language options, runtime, and availability elsewhere may differ. Metropolitan Films edition information
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