'The Apprentice' review: Compelling, entertaining portrait of relationship between younger Donald Trump, Roy Cohn

Earlier this year, Donald Trump’s legal team sent a cease-and-desist letter to the makers of "The Apprentice," a movie that focuses on the former president's early relationship with the controversial lawyer Roy Cohn. Though presenting itself as a fact-based drama, the letter asserted, "The Apprentice" is actually "a concoction of lies."

Is it? Well, the screenwriter is Gabriel Sherman, author of the "The Loudest Voice in the Room," an unflattering biography of Fox News chief Roger Ailes. The director, Ali Abbasi, does make some skewed choices, including a scene of Trump raping his first wife, Ivana. (She described a similar scene in their divorce proceedings, but later walked back the claim.) And then there’s the movie’s tagline, "An American Horror Story," which doesn’t exactly suggest an evenhanded approach.

For all that, "The Apprentice" works on a more basic level. It’s a classic story of an ambitious young man and the mentor who recognizes his potential. Granted, this particular iteration is more "Wall Street" than "The Karate Kid." But thanks to empathetic performances from its two lead actors — and the gritty-yet-glamorous backdrop of New York City at the cusp of the 1980s — "The Apprentice" manages to be entertaining, compelling and at times even poignant.

Your heart almost goes out to the young Trump, played by an admirably understated Sebastian Stan (of "I, Tonya" and the "Captain America" films). We meet him as a young man collecting rent from deadbeats at his dad’s low-end apartment buildings while nursing his own developer’s dreams. Enter Cohn ("Succession" star Jeremy Strong, in a turn that perfectly captures the lawyer’s lifeless eyes and vulture-like posture). The two dine together at a posh social club and immediately talk business: Trump’s father is in trouble with the Feds; maybe Cohn can help? "You’re brutal," Trump says admiringly.

Their blossoming relationship has been covered in Matt Tyrnauer’s documentary "Where’s My Roy Cohn?" — indeed, some of Cohn's pearls of wisdom reappear here almost verbatim. From Cohn, Trump learns three golden rules: Always attack, never apologize and lie until everyone believes you. Like magic, the Feds go away. All obstacles to Trump Tower evaporate. Soon, Trump is a media darling, the face of the money-hungry 1980s. Even his marriage to the brassy model Ivana Zelníčková (Maria Bakalova, "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm") is transactional: Trump offers her a $50,000 "signing bonus," but she counters with $100,000. Meanwhile, like many before him, Trump conveniently ignores Cohn’s homosexuality, just as Cohn himself vehemently denies it.

Cohn emerges as the more fascinating figure here: A chilling and tragic mix of hatred, fear and a near-total lack of humanity. Eventually, Trump kicks an AIDS-weakened Cohn to the curb in a scene that feels a little too cut-and-dried. But something profound has happened: Cohn, who preached the gospel of power above all, can’t help but shed a tear of pride for his pupil.

By Rafer Guzmán

rafer.guzman@newsday.com@raferguzman