Home Blogs “The Apprentice” (2024) Review: Two Oscar-Worthy Performances
"The Apprentice" (2024) Review: Two Oscar-Worthy Performances

“The Apprentice” (2024) Review: Two Oscar-Worthy Performances

by James Danielson

“The Apprentice” harbors two Oscar-nominated performances from the cast, both Sebastian Stan for “Actor in a Leading Role” and Jeremy Strong  for “Actor in a Supporting Role.” The question is, who has the better chance of winning?

Welcome back to the late ’70s and early ’80s when a young Donald J. Trump was in the beginning stage of his real estate takeover. Landline telephones abound, and plush suits and cigarette advertisements paint the New York streets. With the help of his infamous, ruthless lawyer, Roy Cohn, Trump went on a spending spree that would help shape the man he is today. Love him or hate him, his quick rise to the top of the big city real estate market was impressive in and of itself.

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“The Apprentice” (2024) Review: Two Oscar-Worthy Performances

A Trip to the Oscars

Looking at these performances, it’s hard to ignore that both of them embodied the role. Both Sebastian Stan (as Donald Trump) and Jeremy Strong (as Roy Cohn) understood their assignments and hand-delivered the goods. The more I sit and dissect this film, the harder it gets to pick who I believe was better. The problem is that the first half of this focuses a majority of the time on Cohn and his, for lack of a better term, “creation” of Trump and his persona, then the second half is 90% Trump and his real estate takeover.

Stanning for Sebastian

I wasn’t quite sold on Sebastian Stan when the casting was announced, but he deserves his nomination. To say he proved a lot of people wrong is an understatement. This film is about the rise of Trump in his craft and the development of the person we know today. Watching Stan slowly transform was incredible, and it shows his journey from a young, not-sure-what-the-hell-I’m-doing Trump in the first half to the completely confident, not-scared-what-to-say version we all know today. Stan even has the mannerisms and lip movements down nearly perfectly – a fantastic performance. I just don’t know if he can beat out Adrien Brody in “The Brutalist” for Lead Actor. I haven’t watched it yet, but when Brody is on one, he is nearly unstoppable.

A Strong Performance

Then, there is Jeremy Strong. He is a man on a mission in this film, and Strong was a near-perfect choice as Cohn. He’s confident, funny while not even trying and incredibly ruthless. Cohn would do anything and everything to win and succeed. That’s his M.O. and how he helped mold Trump into the way he is. Strong’s performance is unwavering and gripping; he commands and directs each scene he’s in, and the rest of the cast seems like little footnotes when he’s working. It’s a masterclass performance, and I believe it will be a battle between him and Kieran Culkin for the Supporting Actor Oscar. But again, I haven’t seen “The Brutalist” yet to review Guy Pearce’s performance.

An Overall Look

The film is pretty enjoyable as a whole. Most people who watched this probably didn’t expect it to be as fast-paced and entertaining as it is, but having two top-tier performances helped. Even the setting and editing were good, and the grainy, old-school feel of the picture helped in this case. You know how you watch TV shows created in the late ’70s and early ’80s and it’s not the clearest picture? That’s what it was like. I felt like I was in my parents’ bedroom again, watching an episode of “Cheers” while they played Backgammon.

It is an overall good film that gets leveled up to a great one on the shoulders of Stan and Strong. It will be fun to see how their categories unfold at the 97th Academy Awards and if their outstanding performances were enough.

“The first rule is:  Attack, attack, attack. Rule two:  Admit nothing, deny everything. Rule three:  No matter what happens, you claim victory and never admit defeat.” – Roy Cohn

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Thanks for reading my “The Apprentice” (2024) Oscar movie review! Don’t forget to follow me on “Letterboxd,” the movie lovers’ social media platform to review films, create lists, save a watch list and communicate with other movie lovers. 

You can also find me on Twitter/X @snag1025 for more entertainment content and reviews!

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