The story of how Donald Trump (Sebastian Stan) made his name in the 1970’s and 1980’s with the assistance of lawyer Roy M. Cohn (Jeremy Strong). 

The film opens with Nixon’s “I’m not a crook” speech which makes you initially believe that this might be a one sided viewpoint of the only American President to also be a convicted felon. But both the script from Gabriel Sherman and the performance from Sebastian Stan go some way to humanise its subject and give a balanced view. Yet it also shows his deplorable qualities with unblinking conviction. One scene in particular with Trump and his wife Ivana (Maria Bakalova) is particularly hard to watch. The result is that I suspect that whether you are for or against Donald Trump, your viewpoint is supported in some way by this film. 

One thing that is certain is that the most interesting facet of the film is Jeremy Strong’s performance as Roy M. Cohn and it is poorer for every moment he is not on screen. Strong is a force of nature here. Utterly convincing as the life coach who trained Trump to be what he is today. His life lessons and rules so eminently quotable and so horrifically soulless. As he teaches Trump that the truth is malleable, that you should never admit defeat and you must be prepared to do anything to win you understand fully how his character evolved to where it is now. 

Then there is Martin Donovan’s turn as Fred Trump. The father who believed his son was a failure and claims that any success he achieved was because of how hard he was on him. How could anyone turn out nice with mentors like these? 

The Apprentice is a peculiar film though that left me as fascinated as it did depressed and uninterested. Sebastian Stan does a good job of slowly evolving Trump into the caricature we know now. Strong is marvellous as the most amoral human being alive. Donovan and Bakalova provide great support. But ultimately it is a story that perhaps we are all somehow already too familiar. A man born rich, with unloving parents, an amoral life coach and superhuman self belief despite everything to tell them otherwise becomes a powerful and amoral reprehensible human being.

Perhaps The Apprentice is too good at making us realise the state of the world to be enjoyable to watch? Maybe that is the point?