Thoughts on Watching "The Apprentice" + A Connection to "A Complete Unknown"

 

Written by Gabriel Sherman and directed by Ali Abbasi , The Apprentice is, in many ways, a (very) tough watch for someone like me who hates the orange turd with a passion. I opted to check it out because (a) in large part, it's about how the horrific lawyer Roy Cohn (an excellent Jeremy Strong, best known for his work as Kendall Roy in Succession ) molded Trump in his own image and (b) I think Sebastian Stan, who plays the turd, is outstanding. As a side note, if you haven't seen Stan in the exceptionally creepy mini-series Fresh, it's definitely worth checking out. And if you're not familiar with Cohn's anti-democratic work as chief counsel to Senator Joseph McCarthy in the 1950's, you can read about it HERE.

I found The Apprentice fascinating, even though it didn't tell me much I didn't already know, and I'm not at all surprised that they had trouble finding American distribution (I saw a screener as a member of Film Independent). There IS one scene right near the end that I'd never heard about, and if accurate, it's...interesting although certainly on brand.

 My husband, Carlo Fiorletta, watched it with me and pointed out that the hair and make-up people deserve major recognition for their work. I definitely agree.

Bottom line on The Apprentice? I recommend that you watch it for the actors, not the story. But I also understand if that's more than some people can take, at a time when it feels like the world is all orange turd all the time.


And a side note on Cohn and the excellent Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown: we first meet folk icon Pete Seeger (a terrific Edward Norton) as he defends himself in court in 1961 on charges of Contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions from the House Un-American Activities Committee back in 1955 on the grounds that such questions violated his First Amendment rights. The committee's work closely paralleled that of Joe McCarthy and Roy Cohn for the Tydings Committee, officially the Subcommittee on the Investigation of Loyalty of State Department Employees. Seeger was convicted and sentenced to a year in jail but it was overturned on appeal in '62.



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