**© StudioCanal, Scythia Films, Profile Pictures, Tailored Films, Rich Spirit, AQuest Films, Head Gear Films, Metrol Technology, AC Films Inc., Wild7 Films**

The Apprentice – Film Review

Cast: Sebastian Stan, Jeremy Strong, Maria Bakalova, Martin Donovan, Catherine McNally and Charlie Carrick

Director: Ali Abbasi

Synopsis: Charting the rise of New York real estate businessman Donald Trump in the 1970s and 80s under the tutelage of a ruthless lawyer…

Review: If there is one name that everyone on planet Earth has become extremely familiar with in recent years, it would be Donald Trump. For years, he was the face of a reality TV business show billed as the “ultimate job interview” on the back of his career as a businessman. Yet this was a mere prelude to a successful run to become the most powerful person in the world, the President of the United States of America. An intensely divisive figure during his campaign and while in office, his first stint as the leader of the free world was tumultuous, to say the least, and ended in disgrace. Consequently, as he stands to be returned to the job once again, this biopic which depicts the beginnings of his career as a wealthy New York businessman couldn’t be timelier, or scathing in its assessment of the man who is once again poised to become the most powerful person in the world.

It is 1973, and while on a date at a restaurant frequented by the city’s wealthy elite, years before he ever uttered the words “You’re fired” on TV, Trump (Stan) meets the unscrupulous and uncouth lawyer and prosecutor Roy Cohn (Strong). With the federal government pursuing a lawsuit against his father’s business empire for racial discrimination, Trump recruits Cohn as his lawyer to get the lawsuit dismissed, using underhand means. Eager to move away from his father’s sphere of influence, Cohn takes Trump under his wing as the latter moves to strike out on his own and looks to develop a hotel at a derelict site in the city. Along the way, Cohn teaches Trump his three vital lessons to live life by: “attack, attack, attack”, “admit nothing, deny everything” and “always claim victory and never admit defeat”. The last of those feels particularly significant and ominous, given the circumstances in which he refused to concede defeat in an election, which resulted in a violent insurrection at the heart of the US government decades later.

Much like the central figure of this biopic, controversy has followed this film from the get-go, as one of its early funders reportedly attempted to stop it from being released. Further legal action even came from Trump’s legal team to prevent the film from ever being released and it also became the subject of an angry social media tirade from Trump himself (nothing new there then). With the days of his first stint as President still all too fresh in many people’s minds (as well as the events that followed following his 2020 election defeat) Gabriel Sherman’s screenplay wisely avoids his time at the Oval Office, and instead focuses on the dynamic between these two men and how Trump takes a leaf out of Cohn’s book in terms of being utterly ruthless and determined to let nothing stand in his way from achieving what he wants, including musing about a run for President in the future, which the film takes some very unsubtle hints to demonstrate, including what would become his campaign slogan. It is a sobering reminder of the rampant ego Trump has always possessed. Here is a man who you can show all the loyalty in the world, and yet he will not hesitate to cast aside anyone who gets in his way, even the man who mentored him.

To portray a polarising political figure, especially one revered by some and loathed by others, is a daunting challenge for any actor. While there have been many comedic portrayals of Trump over the years, Stan’s performance is firmly grounded in reality. Even though the story is set decades before most people outside of New York knew who he was, Stan illustrates that significant research has gone into his role. He captures Trump’s unique mannerisms and way of speaking in a manner that never feels like parody or mockery, all while depicting his callousness and desire for power above all else. Alongside him, Strong delivers an equally outstanding performance as Cohn, skillfully bringing forth Cohn’s thoroughly unlikable qualities that make viewers uncomfortable each time he appears on screen. Strong is no stranger to the cutthroat world of power struggles and backstabbing, having showcased his talent in HBO’s award-winning series, Succession. It is a testament to his acting skills that even while playing someone as monstrous and unredeemable as Cohn, Strong manages to add a layer of sympathy, considering the circumstances he faced towards the end of his life.

The concentration on the relationship between Trump and Cohn and how that unleashes the monster that became the leader of the free world does mean that the relationship between Trump and his first wife Ivana ( an underutilised Bakalova) is not given as much screentime as it perhaps could have. However, it does include an explicit scene based on a divorce deposition Ivana filed against her ex-husband, which she then later recanted. Whether factual or not, it is a further illustration of this man’s contemptible character and his clear misogyny, which was further demonstrated by the now-infamous Access Hollywood tape. One can argue that this biopic doesn’t reveal anything that wasn’t already known. While that may be true, it shines a light on the scruples (or lack thereof) of a man who stopped at nothing in his pursuit of power and serves as a reminder of who the man entrusted with one of the most important jobs in the world really is.

While it doesn’t have the bite or shocking new revelatory details one might have hoped from a biopic of one of the most controversial figures of the 21st century, The Apprentice packs plenty of punch thanks to the performances of Stan and Strong.

I, Tonya – Film Review

Cast: Margot Robbie, Sebastian Stan, Allison Janney, Julianne Nicholson, Bobby Cannavale

Directors: Craig Gillespie

Synopsis: Telling the story of controversial ice skater Tonya Harding who, whilst competing for her country in the Winter Olympics, becomes embroiled in a scandal following on attack on a fellow competitor Nancy Kerrigan.

Review: The lives of sports stars and professional athletes, are so often very glamorous, particularly when they enjoy success in their field and acquire incredible wealth and fame on a global scale. However, every once in a while, an athlete finds themselves in the public eye for all the wrong reasons. Take for instance, ice skater Tonya Harding. In the build up to the 1994 Winter Olympics, after an attack on her rival Nancy Kerrigan was carried out, a massive public scandal ensued, and the fallout was quite extensive.

This infamous incident is not the focus of the whole movie though. Indeed director Craig Gillespie chooses to focus on Tonya’s entire life, from her early upbringing and being forced into ice-skating by her pushy/over-bearing mother LaVona Golden (Janney) to her marriage to Jeff Gillooly (Stan) to of course the infamous attack on Nancy Kerrigan. He chooses to tell this story in a very unique way, by having the characters as if they were being interviewed by us the audience, and then flashing back to the key moments in Tonya’s life. Constantly jumping back and forth in this manner can be problematic but the film is edited together tremendously well, ensuring it flows coherently.

In a performance that has landed her her first Oscar nomination, Robbie really shines as Tonya Harding. Despite some of her less than pleasant mannerisms and behaviour, she is in many ways a very tragic character. Clearly very talented, she never quite fully realised that potential, this is perhaps more down to factors beyond her control. Of course she isn’t perfect but, her extremely difficult mother and her topsy-turvy home life certainly didn’t help matters. Janney as Tonya’s mother is also getting some well deserved recognition. Almost every word out of her mouth is profanity or a derogatory utterance directed if not at her daughter, at someone else. Though she strives to do what’s best for her daughter, it certainly doesn’t yield the right results, and she certainly wouldn’t win any Best Mother of the Year Awards.

For a person who had more than a few dark and bleak moments in her lifetime, the screenplay does manage to inject some humour into this picture, which is in no small part down to LaVona’s outbursts, and the bumbling incompetence of some of the characters who played a key role role in the attack on Kerrigan. The aforementioned use of editing in the interviews to tell the story, intertwined with some frequent fourth wall breaking keeps the plot moving for the most part along as briskly as an ice skater who’s right in the middle of their routine would.

The film does suffer from a few pacing issues though, as it seems unsure as to which element it really wants to focus on at least in the first act. There’s also the not-so-small matter of the ice skating scenes themselves. While the camerawork to make them happen is impressive, there are a few scenes in which it is very apparent that we are looking at a stunt double, and not Robbie herself, which can be just a little bit jarring. Yet once we reach the third act and the now infamous attack on Kerrigan becomes the main focus, it becomes wildly entertaining, and serves a reminder of how even the smallest action can have devastating consequences on people’s lives and careers.

Unconventional in how it chooses to tell its ultimately tragic story, but with excellent performances from Robbie and Janney in particular fused with some very dark comedy ensures this biopic has some legs (or should that be skates?)