Having brought phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to a bombastic conclusion, the Russo Brothers have returned to a world without superheroes in order to tell a more shocking and real story, but they're bringing one of their mighty Avengers with them. That's right, it's time to talk about 'Cherry'.
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The story of an unnamed Protagonist, one who through a combination of loss and feeling like he doesn't fit in, decides to join the US Army. There he trains as a medic and quickly finds himself deployed to Iraq, where he witnesses the horrors of warfare close up. Once home his PTSD goes undiagnosed and he soon falls into drug addiction, and before he knows it he's robbing banks just to support his habit.
Based on the semi-autobiographical book of the same name by Nico Walker, 'Cherry' is shocking tale of the tragic effects that trauma can have on a person, and those around them. The beginning of the movie is rather odd, the Russos use a strange visual style to introduce us to Holland's character (credited as "Cherry" - military slang for a green soldier newly arrived in a combat zone). Talking about feeling disconnected from this world in some way, he comes across as a kind of lost soul looking for direction. Despite Tom Holland's magnificent performance, this is where the movie lags. Much like the character, the movie almost seems to lack direction - especially as Cherry begins a rather odd relationship with Ciara Bravo's 'Emily'. It might be an odd way of letting audiences take a walk in the Protagonist's shoes, but it is definitely worth struggling through in order to get to the heart of the story.
As Cherry is brought into the regimented yet odd world that is military life, it's easy to see why he struggled so much in later years. After a boot camp sequence reminiscent of Full Metal Jacket, in which a bunch of oddly named Drill Sergeants yell a lot - the Russos clearly had a lot of fun with the anonymity used in the telling of this story - the intensity goes from around about mildly stoned to holy crap. In trying to tell a story about the opioid crisis the Russos really have embraced the "warts and all" approach as both Cherry and the audience are dropped right into the middle of the Iraq war, and all of the horrors that come with it. Rather than simply showing us the damage that addiction does to people, this story is about what can lead a person to become an addict. The combat scenes have a gritty, horrifying authenticity to them, and Holland's performance really comes alive as Cherry tries to deal with what he's seeing.
Now you may be thinking; "I thought this was about robbing banks". Well it is, but that's only one small part of this story (in reality it was only about ten months in Walker's life), and when you get there you will see that the Russos have managed to capture a degree of the terror that comes from witnessing such an event. This is about the downward spiral of a life, how a person gets to that level, and the people that they drag down with them. Watch out for some fantastic performances by Forrest Goodluck as Cherry's friend and fellow addict, and Jack Reynor, who proves to be a source of some levity as 'Pills & Coke'; their exasperated dealer. A scene in which Cherry tries to open a safe he's babysitting serves as an effective window into the mindset of an addict. Whereas he only sees the possibility of a fix, the audience sees the ridiculousness of his attempts to open it (at times it's actually quite funny), not to mention the dangerous consequences if he does.
There's an important message to found at the heart of this story; one about the devastating effects of PTSD and how we should be doing more to help veterans, as well as the consequences of not doing so. And the Russos' "warts and all" approach makes for a very effective delivery method. It's unfortunate then that at times the message is almost lost to inaudible dialogue (subtitles will be required), and at 2 hours and 20 minutes, Cherry is a little on the long side. I know it's important with a story like this to establish how the character gets to rock bottom, but there are moments when it got to feel a little over-indulgent. The epilogue being a perfect example; undoubtedly it was intended to show that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, but it goes on a little long and the end comes across as a tad forced - not to mention saccharine - like the studio wanted some sort of happy ending, which detracts from that all important overall message. I'm also sorry to say that Tom Holland does, unfortunately, look rather hilarious with a moustache. Dodgy facial hair aside, it's a fantastic performance and an eye-opening tale.
This dark and horrifying look at war, PTSD and drug addiction is a shocking U-turn for the Russo brothers. One that not only carries with it an important message for society, but shows they don't need superheroes to make a great movie. 'Cherry' may be a little long, but Tom Holland's phenomenal performance will most certainly get you through it.
8/10
Cherry is available to watch on Apple TV+.
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