CHERRY (2021)

A Drug-Fueled Nightmare that Falls Short of Greatness

Grade: C+

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Cherry is the first movie by brothers Joe and Anthony Russo after their global smash hits with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. From Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) to Avengers: Endgame (2019), they’ve shown that they can make movies populated with great characters. However, Cherry, a movie about a post-traumatic army vet with an opioid addiction, never quite approaches the lofty heights of their superhero epics. Despite a great performance by the main actor and some moments of inspired emotion here and there, the movie doesn’t entirely connect the way it should.

Based on a fictional autobiography by Nico Walker, Cherry tells the story of a young man known as Cherry who falls in love with a college classmate named Emily. The movie provides believable chemistry between the two leads as their relationship deepens. Soon, however, Emily announces that she’s moving to Montreal, and Cherry becomes bitter. In a rather hasty move, he enlists in the army…and then Emily changes her mind. Oops….

And so off goes Cherry to basic training and then to war. Once overseas, his path takes a rather predictable turn as he makes a close friend, sees said friend die a horrible death, and return home all hopelessly messed up, ultimately becoming a menace to the society. Similar stories have been told in classic movies like Taxi Driver (1976),The Deer Hunter (1978), and First Blood (1982). What this movie does differently is show the protagonist’s horrible descent into drug addiction.

Cherry is portrayed by Tom Holland, who really gives this performance his all. We see his grief as he nearly loses Emily, his anguish after he loses his war buddy, his anxiety after a robbery gone wrong, etc. What we don’t see all that much of is happiness, outside of the opening scenes of romance with him and Emily. It’s this lack of happiness throughout the film that contributes to its want for greatness-it would’ve made the dark moments all the more effective.

On top of that, there aren’t many scenes that really establish sympathy for Cherry. His first thought of Emily upon seeing her is a vulgar statement, and he comes across as unlikeable when he turns her away at a restaurant before she changes her mind about leaving. And later, after he begins his opioid addiction, she follows suit. Had Cherry been portrayed more as a good man before he went off to war, the movie’s tone would’ve had much better balance. Occasionally, there are moments that really shine through, like bits of humor thrown in here and there (in Cherry’s eyes, a bank is literally named “The Bank,” and a therapist’s name plate reads “Dr. Whomever”) or an intense scene where Cherry, in a fit of grief, stabs himself in the leg repeatedly with an injection needle. And at the film’s conclusion, when Cherry is released from prison and sees Emily waiting for him, I genuinely felt happy for him.

Cherry is not a terrible movie, but it could’ve been excellent. It had all the right ingredients for such a film-it had two great directors, a powerful lead actor, and a compelling central premise. But the emotion it’s trying to convey never feels 100% earned; it just needed a better-written story. Hopefully the Russos will find the right balance in their next movie, The Gray Man.

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Directors: Joe and Anthony Russo

Producers: Joe Russo, Anthony Russo, Mike Larocca, Jonathan Gray, Matthew Rhodes, Jake Aust, Chris Castaldi

Screenplay: Angela Russo-Otstot, Jessica Goldberg

Cast: Tom Holland (Cherry), Ciara Bravo (Emily), Jack Reynor (Pills and Coke), Michael Rispoli (Tommy), Jeff Wahlberg (Jimenez), Forrest Goodluck (James Lightfoot)

Rated: R (for graphic drug abuse, disturbing and violent images, pervasive language, and sexual content)