Tag: Donald Trump

THE APPRENTICE – Review

Jeremy Strong, left, as Roy Cohn and Sebastian Stan as Donald J. Trump in THE APPRENTICE. Briarcliff Entertainment

It is not the old TV show but Donald Trump’s “apprenticeship” under his attorney and mentor Roy Cohn, the corrupt lawyer whose ruthless approach to the law did so much to make the young Trump who he became. Starring Sebastian Stan as Donald Trump and Jeremy Strong as Roy Cohn in powerhouse performances, THE APPRENTICE is a making-of-the-man drama that starts out with a darkly comic bent but then shifts subtly to a more serious one as the relationship between mentor and apprentice shifts.

While the filmmakers are clearly not pro-Trump, the tone of THE APPRENTICE has a surprisingly neutral tone towards the people in the film, treating them as just people and letting events unfold without commentary. It even seems a bit sympathetic towards the young, almost naive Donald Trump as he encounters the legal pit bull that is Roy Cohn, someone often described as evil, then at the top of his powers as a New York fixer. But even Cohn is treated as a human being, just one with a very different view of ethics.

Early on, attorney Roy Cohn teaches his young apprentice his three rules, the ones he follows in his legal business. Number one: Attack, attack, attack, in every case. Two: Deny, deny, deny, no matter what the facts. And three: No matter what the outcome, always declare victory. Roy Cohn built that ruthless reputation in the Cold War “Red Scare.” Roy Cohn first made a name for himself as a relentless commie hunter for his role in prosecuting the Rosenbergs, and pressing for Ethel’s execution despite her being the mother of young children. He continued the hunt for suspected communists with a young Richard Nixon, and then Sen. Joe McCarthy. When McCarthy’s unethical methods fell out of favor, Cohn moved on to became a powerful “fixer” for corporate interests.

When the two first meet, Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong of “Sucession”) is at his height as a powerful, crooked New York lawyer who was a mover-and-shaker in New York City, while young Donald Trump (Sebastian Stan) is a small-time real estate businessman with bigger ambitions. Young Trump and his father Fred are facing federal charges for racial discrimination in renting apartments when the young Donald caught Cohn’s eye at a posh restaurant frequented by the notable and notorious, inviting the tall, blonde young businessman to join him and his party for dinner in a private room.

The meeting was an eye-opener for Donald, and he immediately sought out Cohn, despite his real estate dealer father Fred’s opposition to Cohn as a crooked lawyer. Young Trump chased Roy Cohn until the attorney reluctantly took the Trumps’ case, which he got dismissed through a combination of delaying tactics and a little blackmail, using Cohn’s extensive of “dirt” he continually collected on any and all public figures. Trump is hooked, although at first, young Trump is a bit shocked and taken aback by Cohn’s lack of ethics.

Sebastian Stan is having a heck of a year, starring in this film as well as the thought-provoking A DIFFERENT MAN, but it is “Succession’s” Jeremy Strong who steals this show. His Roy Cohn is perfectly sleazy but also hypnotic. Strong takes his Cohn from scary beyond words at the start but with a sharp intelligence and magnetic personality, to a sadder, eventually even pitiful as the power shifts and Cohn’s health declines, as he suffers from AIDS, which he always denied having, even suing anyone who said he was gay.

Roy Cohn makes a deal with Trump to aid each other and be friends, rather than having a paid attorney-client relationship, clearly seeing a useful potential in the tall, blonde, handsome young man to gain entry to spheres of power less open to the short, less attractive, closeted-gay lawyer.

Roy Cohn imparts to his apprentice his three rules – always attack when confronted with an adversary or obstacle, always deny no matter what the facts, and always declare yourself the winner not matter the outcome. Cohn follows this rule in his legal work but not her personal life, but his apprentice takes a different path. In the first part of the film, the mentor is in charge but tables turn in the latter part.

At first, Trump is Cohn’s faithful accollite, and Cohn even becomes like a second father to him, a more supportive one than his own criticizing father. The film delves into the Trumps’ family dynamics, including his father Fred’s harsh treatment of Donald’s older brother, Fred Jr. It also shows us Trump meeting and wooing Ivana (an excellent Maria Bakalova), following their romance and marriage, and it’s final souring, including a controversial rape scene.

The film keeps us grounded in historical events by giving us markers with little news video snippets, starting with Nixon and his “I am not a crook” speech, then Reagan footage and references.

Scriptwriter Gabriel Sherman and director Ali Abbasi strike a perfect neutral tone that lets the actors work their characters and events unfold without commentary, making the film more powerful.

This is an impressive film, one that treats the people in this historical drama as human, and even sympathetic at times, while being clear-eyed about the facts. That is no small feat, and boosted by riveting performances, especially by Jeremy Strong, this is a must-see for anyone to understand the man running for president, Donald Trump.

THE APPRENTICE opens Friday, Oct. 11, in theaters.

RATING: 4 out of 4 stars

AMERICAN CHAOS – Review

Left to right: James D. Stern, John Ladd, JoBeth Ladd, Peggy Davis, Fred Davis, in the documentary AMERICAN CHAOS. Photo by Kevin Ford, Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics (c)

As someone who grew up in Chicago, filmmaker James D. Stern was puzzled by the rise of Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign. But then he did something few people in “blue states” might do: he set out to listen to ordinary Trump supporters in “red states” – not to argue with them, just to listen – to find out why they supported him. The resulting documentary, AMERICAN CHAOS, offers fascinating and unexpected insights on why ordinary people voted for Trump.

The documentary AMERICAN CHAOS starts with footage of Presidential political campaigns, beginning with Teddy Roosevelt in the early 20th century. Black and white images give way to color as we recap every president’s campaign since, up to Donald Trump. However, it is the 2016 Trump campaign that is the documentary’s real focus. Scratch that – it is the Trump voters that are the focus. The campaign and the candidate are merely background.

This is a film that people on either side of the political divide could learn from. Six months before the 2016 election, Stern, a Chicago-raised Democrat, hit the road to find out why voters in “red states” were supporting Donald Trump. Among other things, the documentary details attitudes and assumptions on both sides that get in the way of communication across the divide. By taking a grass-roots and non-confrontational approach, Stern uncovers answers that will surprise many and aspects of why people voted for Trump in the 2016 election that have not been well-covered in partisan media.

The opening footage reminds us that there are some things that are the same in every presidential campaign: the crowds eager to see and hear the candidate, the speeches before the crowds, the handshakes and travel. But somethings are different, sometimes radically different.

Candidate Donald Trump certainly was different. As one speaker in the documentary notes, Trump was unique as a presidential candidate: a 70-year-old man with no government experience, no military experience, and who had never done anything in the way of public service. “They compare him to Ronald Reagan but Reagan had been governor of California for eight years,” he notes. That lack of experience shocked Democrats and some Republicans, but was a major appeal to voter of the Tea Party stripe.

Stern gives a quick run-down of how Trump looked to Democrats and their confusion about his appeal. Frustrated by the lack of insight given by listening to either right or left-leaning media, he decided to go straight to the source, Trump supporters, for answers. So he hit the road.

Stern’s road trip took him to Florida, home to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate and Cuban-American communities, Cleveland during the Republican convention, West Virginia coal country and Arizona near the border. It is not just “red states” Stern visits, but particularly rural areas, where he seeks out grassroots activists and local elected officials rather than the big names, as well as some ordinary voters.

In West Virginia, he visits with modern-day descendants of the Hatfields and McCoys, and finds the feuding families are now friends and business partners. As always, Stern listens and asks questions, rather than giving his views, and you feel a real human connection between him and the people he interviews, something you may not expect.

On camera, Stern interviews people who who hold a variety of views but all support Trump. Some of those views are familiar from Fox News and social media, and Stern spends some time on the issue of people’s sources of information, particularly the role of social media. What had once been whisper campaigns and word-of-mouth rumors with limited reach could now spread much further through social media.

Stern touches on a number of issues and topics, offering information on the differing views between right and left, but does not dwell on ones most familiar, like abortion. The documentary’s most intriguing insights are the ones that get away from those well-worn discussions.

Time and again, the Trump supporters talk about three themes: jobs, immigration and Hillary Clinton.

Stern’s questions about why people supported Trump very often led to a litany of complaints about Hillary Clinton. Justified or not, the concerns and the dislike were real and palpable. Another theme was economic decline and lack of jobs. In West Virginia, the decline of the coal industry left small town empty, but similar impacts could be seen in any rural or manufacturing area. There was a sense of grasping at straws, and perhaps a businessman, even one with Trump’s rocky record, might have some answers. The immigration issue was covered in several places. In Florida, Cuban-Americans complain about how they followed the rules and came legally and newer arrivals aren’t. In Arizona, a couple of ranchers with property along the border paint a different picture of border issues than those who don’t live there may have.

Occasionally, Stern lets people with opposing views, left or right, speak but allows each group to speak freely on their own terms instead of setting up confrontations or debates. It is a far more informative and useful approach, even if you don’t agree with what they say. Not everything people say, left or right, are nice. A few rural people express views that sound xenophobic or racist, but other people in big cities express views that show a lack of comprehension and even dismissive of other opinions. But the range of views helps Stern present a fuller picture of the state of the country.

The documentary does not really focus on the campaign, except as background and a timeline for the feelings of voters. It spends little time on the other Republican candidates and does not even mention Bernie Sanders, and keeps the focus on the Trump campaign and occasionally Clinton. Even there, it does little more than mark milestones, like the Access Hollywood tapes, securing the nomination, the debates, and other points. The documentary follows events though the election and up to inauguration.

No matter your political leanings, AMERICAN CHAOS offers fascinating insights on Trump’s appeal and what that might mean for our divided country.