The Apprentice (2024) review

Young and ambitious real estate developer D█████ █. T████ (Sebastian Stan) forms an unholy alliance with infamous super-lawyer Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong) to convince the Federal Government and the NAACP to drop charges - for refusing to rent to "certain tenants" - against his stern father Fred Sr. (a barely recognizable Martin Donovan), aims to replace the decrepit Commodore Hotel on East 42nd Street with a luxurious complex, watches his older brother Fred Jr. (Charlie Carrick) be destroyed by alcoholism and pressures snippy Czech model Ivana Zelníčková (Maria Bakalova) into marrying him.  To its credit this biopic, which was written by well-regarded journalist Gabriel Sherman, isn't a completely jokey "take down" of its subject, although it is slightly reductive, suggesting that the man who would become Emperor #45 (and #47) was "unlocked" by the proverbial devil-on-the-shoulder Cohn (there is no angel on the other) who's always ready with some nugget of Machiavellian advice ("Attack, attack, attack," "You create your own reality," "You have to be willing to do anything to anyone to win," etc.).  The last third becomes even more literal: D█████'s addicted to "diet pills" (which affect his "manhood") and then undergoes procedures to have his cellulite vacuumed out and his hairline fixed (Abbasi provides a close-up of the surgical staples), thereby transforming him into a "modern day Prometheus."  It's definitely not for all viewers (both Democrats and Republicans might be appalled), but those with an open mind who attempt to watch it will be rewarded: Stan does an excellent job imitating T████'s vocal delivery (and gestures) and Strong is phenomenal as Cohn (Roger Stone thinks his performance is "uncanny"): he was a paranoid malcontent (and closeted homosexual) who excelled at blackmail and bullied everyone he could ... before succumbing to AIDS.