The Apprentice,” a newly released film chronicling former President Donald Trump’s real estate ventures in 1980s New York, made its debut at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival amidst a flurry of applause and controversy. The timing of the film’s release, just five months before the presidential election, ignited a storm of criticism from Trump’s campaign.
Starring Sebastian Stan as a young Trump, the movie delves into themes of power, ambition, and the dark underbelly of corruption and deceit. Jeremy Strong, known for his role in “Succession,” co-stars as Roy Cohn, a key figure in Trump’s early career whom he considered a mentor.
Described as a mentor-protege narrative, the film explores the origins of an American dynasty while revealing the moral and human toll of a culture fixated on winning at any cost. Despite sharing a name with Trump’s reality TV show, “The Apprentice,” the film carries a disclaimer acknowledging fictionalized elements. It was written by biographer Gabriel Sherman and directed by Iranian-Danish filmmaker Ali Abbasi, who aimed to use Trump’s story as a vehicle to address broader societal issues.
At the Cannes premiere, Abbasi addressed the audience, warning of the looming threat of fascism and advocating for a candid examination of reality. The film’s portrayal of Trump’s relationship with his first wife, Ivana, and controversial scenes, such as his liposuction procedure, drew audible reactions from viewers and prompted threats of legal action from the Trump campaign, which denounced the film as malicious defamation.
Maria Bakalova portrays Ivana Trump, while Martin Donovan, Catherine McNally, and Charlie Carrick round out the cast. Despite generating buzz at Cannes, the film’s release date remains uncertain, with no confirmed distributor in the United States according to IMDb.
