Tag: Roy Cohn

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

WHERE’S MY ROY COHN? – Review

Left to Right: Roy Cohn, Donald Trump.
Photo by Sonia Moskowitz. Courtesy Sony Pictures Classics

“Have you no sense of decency, sir?” was the question asked of Sen. Joe McCarthy at the Army-McCarthy hearings but right beside him was Roy Cohn. If the question instead had been asked of McCarthy’s young associate, the honest answer would have been no. A famously vicious lawyer and Donald Trump’s mentor. Roy Cohn is the subject of director Matt Tyrnauer’s fascinating documentary WHERE’S MY ROY COHN?

That question directed at Sen. McCarthy was asked by Sen. Joseph Welch, and brought an end to McCarthy’s reign of terror in the 1950s. The documentary takes a close look at the man sitting beside McCarthy, a ruthless lawyer and power broker who many have described as the embodiment of evil. With young attorney Roy Cohn whispering in his ear, Sen. Joe McCarthy conducted Senate investigations during the “Red Scare” on a witch hunt for hidden communists, and then another directed at weeding out homosexuals working in government during the 1950s, arguing that their homosexuality made them targets for blackmail and therefore security risks.

The hearings launched Roy Cohn into the public spotlight, although he had already played an important historical role by unethically pushing the judge for the death penalty for Ethel and Julius Rosenberg during their espionage trial, despite scant evidence against Ethel. Today, many younger people might better know Roy Cohn as a character in Tony Kushner’s play “Angels In America,” if they have heard of him at all. But his influential role in Donald Trump’s career elevates Cohn’s historical significance and, in fact, the documentary’s title comes from a quote attributed to Trump in 2018.

There is a kind of chilling fascination in taking a close look at a man many considered the embodiment of evil, but the fact that Roy Cohn, a brilliant but vicious lawyer and political power broker know for his always-attack style, was also Donald Trump’s mentor makes the documentary WHERE’S MY ROY COHN? timely as well as morbidly engrossing.

Why would one want to see a documentary about such a distasteful figure? Tyrnauer makes a compelling case for the enduring impact Roy Cohn and his “take no prisoners” style have had on the country, and it indirectly offers insights on our current political landscape. The documentary is engrossing, although there is a kind of sick fascination aspect to delving into Cohn’s monstrous, immoral world.

Tyrnauer crafts a fascinating, frightening biographical documentary that takes us into the heart of darkness of Roy Cohn, beginning with his childhood. The only child of a woman from a wealthy family and an unhappy marriage, Cohn’s mother both doted on her son and was dissatisfied with him. With a brilliant mind, an astounding memory, and boundless ambition, Roy Cohn developed an aggressive legal style where he attacked first, never apologized, and lied freely without remorse.

Cohn first shot to public prominence as Sen. Joe McCarthy’s right-hand man at the infamous 1950s “Red Scare” witch hunt, but he had already illegally influenced the judge in the espionage trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Described in this documentary as a classic “self-hating Jew,” Cohn was also a closeted gay man, who died of AIDS in the 1980s, yet assisted McCarthy and J. Edgar Hoover, another closeted gay man, in their witch hunt for homosexuals in government, arguing they were a security risk because of the potential they could be blackmailed in that homophobic era.

The film is packed with archival footage of Cohn at work, stills of him partying at nightclubs and on yachts, and interviews commenting on his life. Among those featured in the documentary are political strategist Roger Stone and gossip columnist Liz Smith. Cohn was close to Barbara Walters and Ron and Nancy Reagan, among others of the rich and powerful.

Roy Cohn is undeniably a remarkable if horrifying historical figure, whose life of excess embodies an era and whose junkyard-dog legal and public style continues to influence our world today. After Sen. McCarthy’s fall from influence, Cohn shifted from politicians to defending the heads of crime families in court, famously getting one gangster off with a light sentence even though he murdered his victim in front of witnesses.

One interviewee in the documentary describes Cohn as being where the political powerful meets the criminal underworld. Known for his loyalty to his friends and clients as well as his vicious legal style, Cohn cultivated friendships with Ronald and Nancy Reagan and other power elites of the ’70s and ’80s. Cohn hobnobbed with the rich and famous at exclusive hot spots like Studio 54, leading a lavish and high-profile life.

As the documentary explores the personal and political sides of Roy Cohn, it makes a strong case for how he shaped our current political landscape. On one hand, the documentary has the “can’t look away” draw of a train wreck but it also provides valuable insights on how his attack-style of public behavior continues influence the world we live in.

WHERE’S MY ROY COHN? is essential viewing for everyone in this country, for this insights it provides on Trump’s playbook, if for no other reason. It opens Friday, Oct. 18, at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinema.

RATING: 4 out of 4 stars