A man dressed as Donald Trump poses for photographers as he arrives at the premiere of the film ‘The Apprentice’ at the 77th International Film Festival in Cannes, southern France. file | Photo Credit: AP

An explosive new biopic of Donald Trump, shown in Cannes on May 20, paints an unflinching but nuanced portrait of the former US president, even if he is running for the White House again.

“The Apprentice” traces Mr. Trump’s origin story as an ambitious young property developer in 1970s and 1980s New York.

Sebastian Stan, of Marvel superhero movie fame, plays Mr. Trump, while Jeremy Strong, of “Succession” fame, plays his ruthless mentor and lawyer Roy Cohn — and both have received rave reviews from Cannes critics .

Initially offering an almost sympathetic portrayal of a stubborn but naïve social climber, the film shows Mr Trump’s decency eroding as he learns the dark art of deal-making and gets a taste of power.

It premiered at the French film festival on May 20 as Mr Trump was on trial in Manhattan over a molestation scandal involving a porn star.

The film begins with a disclaimer that many of its events are fictional, and director Ali Abbasi makes full use of that license by imagining brutal events taking place behind closed doors.

In a horrific scene, Mr Trump is seen raping his first wife, Ivana.

During the divorce proceedings, Ivana once accused Mr. Trump of raping her, although he later rescinded the accusation. He died in 2022.

It appears the film has already infuriated Mr Trump’s team.

His campaign communications director Steven Cheung said that a lawsuit would be filed “to address the patently false claims of these pretentious filmmakers.”

“This garbage is pure fiction that sensationalizes long-debunked falsehoods,” Cheung said in a statement. AFP,

Speaking to Vanity Fair ahead of the premiere, Mr. Abbasi said his aim was to make “a punk rock version of a historical film… [not] “Becomes too concerned about details and what’s right and what’s wrong.”

‘Attack, attack, attack’

Iranian-born director Abbasi is a Cannes regular. His serial killer story “Holy Spider” was played in the competition two years ago.

“The Apprentice” opens with a young Tramp obsessed with joining the city’s elite and dreaming of owning his own luxury hotel, even as he spends his days personally collecting rent from his father’s tenants.

His life is transformed by an encounter with Mr. Cohn, whose harshly nihilistic lessons such as “accept nothing, reject everything” and “attack, attack, attack” would become Mr. Trump’s manifesto later in life.

Mr. Cohn made his name as a fearsome lawyer for Senator Joseph McCarthy by hunting down communists and sending Soviet spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg to the electric chair.

Far from a simple handjob, london time Even argued that it would “make you feel sympathetic toward Trump”, while Variety said it was “sharp and acerbic, but it avoids cheap shots”.

The script was written by Gabriel Sherman, a journalist who covered real estate for the New York Observer in the 2000s and regularly spoke with Trump.

The film is one of 22 films in competition for the festival’s top award, the Palme d’Or. The jury headed by “Barbie” director Greta Gerwig will announce the winner on May 18.

Asked if it was possible for an American woman to objectively evaluate a film about Mr. Trump, Ms. Gerwig said she would come to the film with “an open mind and an open heart and willing to be surprised.”

‘Raw Experience’

Also at Cannes, Demi Moore has emerged as a serious contender for the best actress award after praise for her “fearless” performance in “The Substance,” which explores the pressure women face to maintain physical perfection as they age. Does it.

“It was a very raw experience,” she said, requiring her to “expose myself emotionally and physically.”

May 20 also marks the latest offering from David Cronenberg — director of such classic body-horror films as “The Fly,” “Crash” and “Videodrome.”

The story of a widowed businessman (Vincent Cassel) who invents a machine to monitor the dead in their graves, it was partly inspired by the death of Cronenberg’s wife of 43 years in 2017.

At the moment, the frontrunner is considered to be “Emilia Pérez”, an extremely daring musical about a Mexican narco boss’s gender transition.

It has earned praise for its starring stars Zoe Saldana, Selena Gomez and trans actress Carla Sofia Gascón, as well as its French director Jacques Audiard, who has already won the Palme d’Or.