Jeremy Stobart

As someone who lives in the UK, I am not completely fettered by the political baggage that comes with either loving or loathing Donald Trump. That said, like many, I am very much fascinated by his rise to power and I thought that there would not be anything in the film that would surprise me, nor would I learn anything new. I was very wrong. I almost had to watch this film with 2 hats on. My first hat was that this was a Biopic about Trump's early career as a real estate developer and how, with the influence of Roy Cohn (who I knew nothing about before I watched the film..in fact I confused him with Michael Cohen!!) became the marmite politician/personality we all know and love/hate today. Watching with my other hat, as others have observed, this was a well crafted story of 'The Apprentice' (ie Trump) becoming the master under lizard like, Machiavellian Lawyer (ie Cohn) I can say that I enjoyed the film wearing either hat. My lasting memory was to compare it to films such as Frankenstein and the creation of a monster or The Omen where the film quotes little known sections of the bible foretelling the rise of the son of the devil from a pillar of the business community. It made me wonder if any of these comparisons were in the directors mind; but whatever his motivations, I hugely enjoyed this well told, well paced and extremely deftly crafted production. JS

Fabulous satirical, but both dark and mildly ridiculous comedy which pokes fun at almost all aspects of popular culture which currently plagues society, particularly in the US. No bastion remains unassailed. From Trump's MAGA camapaign, Covid and climate change deniers, the inanity of social media, political and mainstream media optics taking precedence over scientific peer reviewed fact, the film is a hilarious mirror held up to the way western society carries on in the 21st Century. The likes of Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk are all beautifully gift wrapped up in the ridiculously fey but malignant character played by Mark Rylance as the CEO of the government controlling 'BASH' corporation, all wonderfully assisted by Meryl Streep's president and Jonah Hill's Chief of staff(who says nepotism doesn't work..eh Donald??). Cate Blanchett and Tyler Perry fabulously 'ham it up' as the fluffy primetime tv presenters. Even Ariana Grande pokes fun at herself (I hope she got the joke). As the 'straight men', Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence fabulously portray the US society's disdain in Science or at least in certain quarters. I bet Brian Cox and Anthony Fauci (if they watched the film) would just sadly nod with their head in their hands and wonder if they were actually watching a documentary on US Government Policy. As others have said, right wing nay sayers wont get it. Left wing 'right ons' will see it as a battle cry. Either way, it is well worth a watch.