Introduction
Cherry is a crime drama film released in 2021 and directed by Hollywood veterans, Anthony and Joe Russo, who have the Marvel Cinematic Universe to their names. Cherry, released in 2021 and starring Tom Holland, is a departure from Russo’s more popular work which relies on flashiness and graphics and is rather a stylized piece that is more personal to him and his family. The screenplay, written by Angela Russo-Otstot and Jessica Goldberg, is based on the semi-autobiographical novel of the same name, ‘Cherry’ written by Nico Walker. Walker is a former U.S. Army medic who is said to have suffered from PTSD, and a severe drug addiction to heroin, turning him into a criminal.
This film serves as a dark and stylized piece of ambitious American life, modern in nature, exploring the themes of trauma, love, moral decay, as well as the disillusionment that accompanies it. It centers on the life of a young man, his personal turmoil, and his descent into chaos.
Plot Summary
The plot of the movie follows the life of a young man living in America. It is subtitled into six separate chapters, with each marking new progress in the protagonist’s life. It centers around a nameless man who is depicted as Cherry, aptly played by Tom Holland, who traverses the world coping with war, trauma, and addiction.
Chapter 1: Childhood and First Romance
In this chapter, we get to know Cherry as a college student in Ohio who seems to lack passion and direction in life. He meets and falls in love with a fellow student, Emily, who is played by Ciara Bravo. However, the relationship takes a turn when Emily informs Cherry about relocating to Montreal. This news tempts Cherry to enlist with the U.S. Army, and he does so out of heartbreak and seeking a new direction in life.
In the Opening Scene, Cherry is still coming to terms with the heartbreak of losing Emily and impulsively enlists in the U.S. Army. Cherry is Obsessed with Emily and impulsively enlists in the U.S Army after coming to terms with the heartbreak of losing. They come to a mutual decision of loving one another and get united just before his deployment.
Chapter 2: Life in The Army
In this chapter, we get a deeper look into the life of Cherry as he is a discriminator and spends time in the Army. Cherry trains as a medic and is sent off to the loathed location of Iraq. There, he is surrounded by brutal violence which causes fatal physical and emotional suffering. The events from this chapter and further down the road lead to a cracked mind and the feeling of being left stranded in life. The injuries portrayed in this chapter and savage range of emotional suffering depicted in this chapter renders him hopeless. Cherry’s life following the war is filled with emotional void and the heat from the war within is quenched but leaves behind consuming scars.
Chapter 3: The Descent into Addiction
Back to civilian life, Cherry has issues readjusting to life outside of the military. Without treatment, the suffering from his trauma becomes unbearable. In an attempt to numb the pain, he relies on prescription opioids, which quickly lead to a severe addiction to heroin. Watching his downward spiral, Emily joins him on his substance journey. The two of them become increasingly co-dependent.
In this chapter, we see the film’s most poignant message: the impact of trauma is harrowing, especially for veterans, and society is too often ill-equipped to help.
Chapter 4: Crime and Robbery
In an attempt to fund his addiction, Cherry starts robbing banks. The robberies are portrayed with a blend of dark humor and tension, reflecting his growing impulsivity and emotional numbness. Although he feels his robberies serve a purpose, the reality is that he is losing control of his life.
The bank scenes are characterized with bizarre stylization: the names of the banks are substituted with words like “Sh*tty Bank” which adds another layer of satire to the film’s critique of capitalist systems and institutional failure.
Chapter 5: Collapse
As time goes on, the addiction of Cherry continues to worsen, while Emily finally overdoses and nearly loses her life. Their relationship, once beautiful and pure, becomes co-dependent and toxic. Cherry turns further into his addiction, becoming a mere ghost of his former self, burdened by the weight of the past and deep guilt and guilt with every crime he commits.
At some point, he comes to terms that he is heading towards self-destructive death, which serving time of imprisonment is not ideal. Wasting no further time, he robs his final bank and waits to be captured. He deepens the fantasy dressed in a blood-soaked and heroin high fantasy, fully embracing the high, and welcoming capture.
Chapter 6: Redemption
Prisoned, Cherry is on the path to self-diagnosing a slow path to recovery and shedding the layers of guilt by a severe and physical soul searching. For the next 14 years, he goes through a transformative phase of sober self-realization of rebuilding the damage he has done to himself. In the film, we see his final moments with Emily where he visually bets her and their eyes intertwine, guiding the audience to the conclusion of the film marking an uncertain fragile hope.
Performances and Characters
Tom Holland as Cherry
As Holland as Cherry: Tom Holland’s any boyish allure is transformed into a grim character in his new career-defining portrayal in Cherry. Holland’s character is a very broken man who transforms into a devoted student and soldier, and later a shattered war veteran and then finally a strung out addict. His character progression is fully and courageously atoned to a physical and emotional indulgence, and his portrayal is simultaneously very human, raw, and disturbing.
Ciara Bravo as Emily
Bravo’s Emily is simultaneously Cherry’s wife and a crack addict. She is remembered as a powerful portrayal who brought heartbreaking fragility to the character, who indeed, selfishly loves and becomes devoted to Cherry. Their emotional progression carries the weight of the film as Bravo and Holland’s chemistry carries the weight of the film’s narrative.
Themes and Analysis
- The Cycle of Trauma
Cherry, the film, focuses mainly on people’s worrying capability to ignore the disorderly mix of chaos, sadness, and destruction in life and how avoiding to extensively leads to self and social destruction. The combination of a mature emotional disorder and the impact of war leads to Cherry’s life showing a very deep socio-psychological impact.
- Addiction and Dependency
As opposed to many films these days, the filmmakers behind Cherry avoided the temptation of dramatizing the use of ad drugs and made sure to exhibit the impact drug use with sheer honesty. It demonstrates the toll not of just a drug addict, but of everyone, emotionally and physically, surrender to emotional numbness.
- The Collapse of Institutions
From the military to the healthcare and legal systems, Cherry critiques all the types of institutions that discard individuals after they have outlived their usefulness. Cherry’s descent is as much a societal tragedy as it is a personal one.
- Romantic Relationships, Love and Codependency
From the film, Cherry and Emily’s relationship depicts the evolution of a deep unnerving love to a dangerous codependency. The film looks at the dual nature of love, something that can be both salvaging and devastating when it is entwined in addiction and trauma.
Cinematic Style
The Russo brothers have a tendency to tell stories in a polished, stylized, and avant-garde manner. To reflect Cherry’s broken mind, the film often shatters the fourth wall, distorts visuals, slows things down, and changes the tone unexpectedly. Under the direction of Newton Thomas Sigel, the film’s cinematography alternates between gritty and surrealist.
The style has been polarizing, at times praised and at times scorned. But it does weave a distinct fabric into the film. The narrative structure, which moves through several time periods and utilizes voiceovers, mirrors the chaos of the protagonist’s mind.Reception and Legacy
With the release of the film “Cherry”, the reception and reviews released were widely in disagreement with each other. For the fact that the film had Tom Holland in it, many praised his performance along with the filmmakers vision. Others had issues with the film such as the overuse of polish and it’s length. Still, it sparked important conversations about PTSD, addiction, and the opioid crisis in the United States.
While the film may have elicited mixed reactions, its unflinching engagement with heavy issues makes it stand out. Its lack of universal acclaim does little to diminish its courage to grapple with crucial, and often overlooked, realities.
Conclusion
Cherry is one such film that captures the emotion of trauma and the long, arduous road to healing the individual scars inflicted. Through the transformative performance by Tom Holland and the Russo brothers’ daring direction, the film is able to capture the unyielding weight of harrowing experiences.
Cherry is far from an easy viewing, and that lack of ease is by no means a bad element. For those viewing the film with a willingness to absorb its intensity, “Cherry” becomes a heart-wrenching, poignant portrayal of a fractured reality of America, and a dim flicker of the healing that can still be hope permeating.
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