Speaking of “The Apprentice,” Ali Abassi reposted some praise for his film coming in from none other than ex-Richard Nixon operative, and Donald Trump ally, Roger Stone.
Stone went on his X account to sing the praises of Jeremy Strong’s performance as Roy Cohn, and I’ll agree with Mr. Stone, it’s an Oscar-worthy performance:
I knew Roy Cohn. Roy Cohn was a friend of mine. The portrayal of Roy Cohn by actor Jeremy Strong in the new movie “The Apprentice” is uncanny in its accuracy.
This follows Cohn’s cousin singing the praises of Strong’s performance, calling the performance “chillingly accurate”:
Over the years, I’ve watched plausible portrayals of Roy, starting with Al Pacino in HBO’s adaptation of “Angels in America.” Now Jeremy Strong weighs in with a chilling performance. He embodies Roy — his haughtiness, his pettiness, his Potemkin-pretend patriotism. And he masters Roy’s ticks. Roy spoke in elegantly polished paragraphs, unlike Trump. He had a nasal, straight-outta-Bronx voice. Roy’s tongue used to dart from his thin lips, in a reptilian way.
“The Apprentice” implies that Cohn, one of the most fascinating political figures of the 20th century, was the most important influence to shape the 45th President. Trump and Cohn were an odd couple, but inseparable, helping each other achieve their end goals, no matter the cost.
Strong plays Cohn and he deserves all the accolades for his impeccable turn here — he exudes the ruthless nature that the man had. Cohn, a lawyer, politician, and underground operator, was all about the “killer instinct,” and he took Trump under his wings in ‘70s NYC.
Cohn eventually succumbed to AIDS, and his friendship with Trump soured a bit during that time, as student overtook teacher, but there was still immensely shared camaraderie, up to his final days. The heart of this film is their eccentric bromance and the way it kept evolving through the chaos that surrounded them.
I also highly recommend Matt Tyrnauer’s excellent 2019 documentary “Where’s My Roy Cohn?” which tackles many of the stories depicted in “The Apprentice.” While we’re at it, Stone has his own doc, “Get Me Roger Stone,” available on Netflix, which better explains how Stone took over the mantle Cohn left behind.
