“The Apprentice” by Ali Abbasi, the rise of young Donald Trump driven by a slogan: “Attack, attack, attack”

We could expect a firestorm on one of the most controversial presidents of the United States who is running for office again. It is, in fact, a less aggressive film than expected, while Donald Trump threatened, without follow-up, to file a complaint for defamation against the production.

Donald Trump before Trump: Ali Abbasi is making a biopic on the Republican candidate for the American presidential election next November, from the perspective of the billionaire businessman, before getting involved in politics.

The Apprenticewhich comes out Wednesday October 9, is performed by Sebastian Stan (Captain America), remarkable mimicry and conviction in the skin of his model.

If we can in principle be resistant to the television format of the image of The Apprenticea film intended for the cinema screen, it is in this case justified by Trump’s eminently media personality. The man “takes advantage” of the trials he faces to be even more exposed in the media and victimized.

Thus, regarding the biopic of Ali Abbasi presented during the last Cannes Film Festival, his campaign team announced Tuesday May 21, 2024 “launch legal proceedings in the face of the completely false assertions of these so-called filmmakers”by denouncing a “purely malicious defamation“.

“This mishmash is pure fiction that sensationalizes long-disproven lies.“said Steven Cheung, spokesperson for Donald Trump’s campaign team, in a statement.

Indeed, Ali Abbasi (The Nights of Mashhad) pulls no punches, showing the businessman raping his first wife, Ivana (Maria Bakalova), taking amphetamines or undergoing liposuction and surgery to hide his baldness.

With The ApprenticeAli Abbasi, with triple Iranian, Danish and Swedish nationality, revives the tradition of American political films, such as The President’s Men, Nixon Or JFK. On a more formal level, we also feel the influence of Taxi Driver, Network Or Macadam Cowboyin the way of filming New York. Assumed references which benefit the film. Ali Abbasi is doing quite well with this risky project, but which comes at the right time, less than a month before the presidential election (November 5, 2024).

The director also knows how to be less offensive when he develops the somewhat naive side of the apprentice in politics, when the latter affirms that the presidency does not interest him and when he declares that “doing business is an art“. But the lion balks when he launches the watchwords of his strategy: “Attack, attack, attack“, “never admit anything“, by appropriating the maxims of his lawyer and campaign manager Roy Cohn (remarkable Jeremy Strong) while taking advantage of his provided address book. He will also abandon him to his fate, when he turns out to be ill with AIDS . Of which act.

Gender : Biopic
Director: Ali Abbasi
Actors: Sebastian Stan, Jeremy Strong, Iona Rose MacKay
Country : UNITED STATES
Duration : 2h
Exit : Wednesday October 9, 2024
Distributer : Metropolitan FilmExport
Synopsis: 1970s. The early years of real estate entrepreneur Donald Trump and his relationship with his lawyer Roy Cohn.