The Apprentice

The Apprentice follows Donald Trump in his early years as a real-estate developer in 1970s New York, when he is trying to step out of his father Fred's shadow and make a name for himself in Manhattan. He meets Roy Cohn, a ruthless lawyer known for his work as a prosecutor and for his ties to Senator Joseph McCarthy, and the two form a mentor-and-protégé relationship. Cohn takes Trump under his wing and teaches him a set of hard rules for winning: attack, admit nothing, and always claim victory. The film traces how that guidance shapes Trump's rise in the property business and his dealings with developers, unions and organized crime, all set against the New York real-estate world of the era.

Ali Abbasi directed the film, his third feature after Border and Holy Spider. Gabriel Sherman wrote the screenplay, and the cast includes Sebastian Stan as Donald Trump, Jeremy Strong as Roy Cohn, Martin Donovan as Fred Trump, Maria Bakalova as Ivana Trump, Catherine McNally as Mary Anne Trump and Charlie Carrick as Freddy Trump. It runs 122 minutes.

It was released in October 2024, with a budget of 16 million US dollars and a worldwide box office of about 17 million. On IMDb it holds 7.1 out of 10 from 72,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.8 out of 10 from just over 1,000 votes. The critics' rating stands at 6.9 out of 10 from 250 reviews, in line with the audience scores.