‘The Apprentice' Trailer: Ali Abassi's Controversial Donald Trump Biopic

Well, it’s here. The first trailer for the Donald Trump biopic “The Apprentice,” which is set to be unleashed in 2000+ theaters this coming October 11. Releasing the trailer on presidential debate night is certainly one way to market this film … It’s quite clear the producers want to influence the upcoming election.

Ali Abassi’s film which premiered at Cannes to mixed reviews, has been gaining far more favorable reactions at Telluride and TIFF this month, to the point where some folks now believe it could nab some Oscar nominations.

Before it acquired “The Apprentice,” I hadn’t heard much about Briarcliffe Entertainment. They must not have much in the way of funds as they’ve also launched a Kickstarter campaign, which went live last week, with a goal to raise $100,000 for the film’s marketing. It’s so far amassed $300,000.

Almost every big studio passed on “The Apprentice,” including the big four streamers (Netflix, Amazon, Disney+ and Apple). So did Warner Bros, Paramount, Universal, Searchlight, Sony Pictures Classics, Focus, A24, HBO and Lionsgate.

“The Apprentice” turns out to be a surprisingly good film — one highly influenced by ‘70s filmmaking. The performances, from Jeremy Strong and Sebastian Stan, are also exemplary. Tackling the gradual transformation of Trump, it’s done in a way that avoids SNL-style parody. Abassi’s film is actually quite restrained for most of its runtime and the story being told here is a fascinating one, tackling the power dynamics between Trump and his former mentor, Roy Cohn.

Jeremy Strong plays Cohn and he deserves all the accolades for his strong turn here — he exudes Cohn’s ruthless reputation. Cohn, a lawyer, politician, and all-around sketchy personality, was all about the “killer instinct,” and he took Trump under his wings in ‘70s NYC. Sebastian Stan plays Trump and he’s, surprisingly, excellent. It’s not a caricature, but rather, a fully lived-in portrayal with all the gestures and mannerisms we’ve gotten to know by now.

There’s a ton of authenticity to this film. Whenever it holds back on its, at times, strained jabs at Trump, it works very well. Abbasi and cinematographer Kasper Tuxon (“The Worst Person in the World”) switch up the look of the film as it goes from the low-rent ‘70s to the excess of the ‘80s. It’s well worth a look.