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The great puzzle about the Apprentice is why Donald Trump is so irked by it. He has called it a “FAKE and CLASSLESS Movie written about me” and a "pile of garbage". Perhaps he’s offended by Sebastian Stan’s convincing impression, including scenes mocking his obsession with looking like Robert Redford. It could be the vivid and shocking rape sequence, in which he takes revenge on first wife Ivana for her taunting him about his hair. Maybe he wants us to think that his rise to the presidency was entirely down to his own nous, rather than – as director Ali Abbasi depicts it – thanks to lessons learned from Nixon’s consigliere Roy Cohn, superbly played by Jeremy Strong. Certainly, The Apprentice does not love its subject. But overall, the Former Guy should be happy with this portrait of a slightly foolish rascal. It’s a better campaign ad for the Donald than the recent video of him bobbing his head along to his playlist for the last 30 minutes of a town hall meeting while his audience drifts away, puzzled and a little bored.
