How do you follow up not only the highest-grossing film of all-time but one of the biggest cinematic events in recent memory? Avengers: Endgame was on a scale quite unlike any other contemporary blockbuster. For directors Joe and Anthony Russo, Cherry marks a new chapter: a turn into avant-garde filmmaking.
Or so that’s how the posters are pitching the glossy, new Apple TV+ feature. For those wanting to see a more “grown-up” slice of life from the Russo Brothers, Cherry comes as a major disappointment. Based on the semi-autobiographical novel by Nico Walker, the film recounts the life of Cherry (Tom Holland) as he falls in love with Emily (Ciara Bravo) then enlists in the army after their subsequent breakup. He serves as a medic in Iraq, returns home with serious PTSD, gets hooked to opioids, and starts robbing banks to fund his addiction.
Clearly, Walker knew his whirlwind life would make for a thrilling cinematic adaptation someday. And, in better hands, maybe it could have been great. There’s honestly a riveting movie there somewhere. Sadly, the Russo Brothers can’t quite shake the bombastic filmmaking they came away from Marvel with and their blockbuster sensibilities don’t translate well to an intense, intimate drama about someone’s life unravelling to PTSD and addiction. Cherry is very much about “style over substance” as it rushes through every genre from coming-of-age to war epic, addiction drama, heist film, and even a prison movie all in the space of a bloated 140-minute runtime. Despite this though, there’s no room for the chapters to breathe. It’s a whistle-stop tour of moments in Cherry’s life, briefly touching upon various socio-political issues, then moving on without exploring anything fully.
Instead of one concise narrative thread, we have a slew of half-hearted subplots mawkishly cobbled together to give us a broad picture of a character we care – or even know – very little about. Also using Cherry as their MCU-breakout is Tom Holland and he admittedly turns in a competent performance in the titular role but the lacklustre script offers him little to sink his teeth into. We’re treated, instead, to countless scenes of him shooting up and breaking the fourth wall in a film where that sort of storytelling doesn’t really belong. If you want to see Holland in a good, non-MCU role then I’d suggest The Devil All the Time. While the Russo’s admittedly helm the warfare sequences with ease and grit (the only time their MCU experience pays off), the pockets in which Cherry thrives are few-and-far-between. The Russo’s drown out the drama, political edge, and character with tone-deaf and unnecessarily showy filmmaking. You have to wonder how a film can be so long, cover so much ground with a whiplash pace, and still feel as though it accomplished very little by the end.
Cherry is released on Apple TV+ from 12th March.
Cherry
Summary
Tom Holland turns in a competent performance in the titular role but the lacklustre script offers him little to sink his teeth into.
