Sebastian the week of

The Apprentice, Ali Abassi’s film about a younger Donald Trump and his mentor, Roy Cohn, opens this Friday. I put my election ballot in the mail yesterday, and then last night, I watched The Apprentice because I like to live inside a full political nightmare. My review will run later this week, but this film is VERY much in the eye of the beholder. It’s almost a referendum on the viewer’s compassion, and I think I failed the test. Still thinking about it, will get back to you later with better, more organized thoughts. One thing is clear, though, and that is that Sebastian Stan gives a tremendous performance.

Here is Sebastian, the week of the release of his most controversial film to date, and as Lainey previously noted, he is looking very good right now. As he should, he’s riding a professional high, with the best reviews of his career for both The Apprentice and A Different Man. He’s an Oscar contender, and with Joaquin Phoenix pretty much out of contention now, Stan’s odds improve (as they do for everyone on the Best Actor bubble, such as John David Washington and Andrew Garfield). 

The challenge for Stan is 1) not splitting his own vote because he has two options for voters to support, and 2) getting people to watch The Apprentice. There could be resistance because a lot of us just want to think about Trump less, and giving two hours of our lives to a movie about him is the opposite of that. That hurdle is real. But for now, Sebastian Stan can bask in the potential of the Oscar race. As Charles Melton just showed us, you don’t even have to be nominated to have a winning awards season.