CHERRY | FILM REVIEW
Dirs: Anthony & Joe Russo (18, 140 mins)
The Russo Brothers reached new heights with Avengers: Endgame in 2019, at the time of writing declared as the highest grossing film ever. On Apple TV, their newest cinematic offering comes as a blistering tale of war, love and drugs.
In a career-defining role, Tom Holland plays the title character with real gusto. It is the highly convincing American accent, the compelling persona of naivety, leading to trauma and his all-round likability that affirms his talents. The story is simple: a young man falls in love, goes to war, comes back broken, then becomes a drug addict. The runtime looks long, but the film flies by, pulling you in from the first scene – a moment seen again later as the film reminds you of the mighty journey this character has been on.
The Russos have really pushed themselves with Cherry: the intense visual imagery and the athleticism of the camera leaves you reeling. The different parts of the story evoke the source material, Nico Walker’s 2018 novel – though each chapter has its own charm, even amidst hard-to-watch moments, with an unflinching depiction of mental health on the brink. Looking back at the conflict in Iraq, where Cherry is assigned, we can only lament it as a waste of lives, money and resources; through this, there is real humanity to the war section, moments recalling the famous training scenes of Full Metal Jacket. Holland’s later drug-fuelled antics are comedic, yet sympathetic, his bank robberies fraught with a lack of planning and professionalism.
Numerous scenes hold up as inspired flourishes. The murky drug taking is filled with blood, vomit and excrement, the experience highlighting the terrible narcotic epidemic facing the US. Numerous shots of Cherry’s girlfriend Emily (played with conviction by Ciara Bravo) are lushly captured and feature the exquisite dreamy synths of Henry Jackson, another highlight. Multiple shots are in a deep red saturation, perhaps relating to Cherry’s colour blindness, a discovery only made during army enrolment. A bank teller is metaphorically dimmed, in a segment about the facelessness of banking, where Cherry is sorting out his finances. In a later scene, he robs the same bank with the same teller, and as he does so she gradually becomes illuminated. A wonderful moment, one that will stay in the memory for some time.
On Apple TV from Fri 12 Mar. Info: here
words JAMES ELLIS image APPLE TV
