Cherry

Synopsis: The wild journey of a disenfranchised young man from Ohio who meets the love of his life, only to risk losing her through a series of bad decisions and challenging life circumstances.

Movie Review:

“Cherry” is directed by the Russo brothers and is based on the best-selling novel of the same name. After the Russos made one of the biggest films of all time two years ago, they decided to make a gritty character study about drugs and war, and the pain it causes someone. I thought this film was a bit of a mix bag (love, drugs and crime). The movie tries to say a lot of things about how bad decisions can affect your life but at times it is depressing and very hard to watch. Tom Holland plays Nico Walker a young man who drops out of college to join the military as an army medic until he becomes a drug addict who robs banks. Tom Holland’s performance is heartbreaking and emotionally charged with drug, crime and PTSD scenes. This role proves that Tom Holland can branch out and do other things besides playing “Spiderman”. Ciara Bravo plays Nico’s long-time girlfriend/wife Emily. Their relationship was the focus of the movie and it was incredibly sad to watch as Emily succumbs to drugs also. Most of the acting in the movie was great, especially Jack Reiner as a drug dealer named Coke who brought some humor in an otherwise depressing film. I did enjoy the first two acts of the movie; where he is an awkward college student who meets the love of his life, and where he is a soldier in the Iraq War which were some of the most intense scenes of the movie. However, the movie loses me when he becomes a drug addict and a bank robber --it is just way too long. Even though I thought the film was a sloppy execution of a young man’s life full of his own bad decisions, it was full of talented acting performances. I am giving “Cherry” a 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Directors: : Joe Russo, Antony Russo

Cast: Tom Holland, Ciara Bravo, Kelli Berglund, Michael Gandolfini, Forest Goodluck, Jeff Wahlberg, with Damon Wayans, Jr. and Jack Raynor

Runtime: 140 minutes