Cherry

Cherry

Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo. Cast Tom Holland, Ciara Bravo, Jack Reynor,Michael Rispoli

Clunky, erratic, over-long, over-stylised, “Cherry” has a script that’s so ridden with cliches that’s almost laughable, while at the same time rips off from films from the likes of Tarantino (even in its chapter-headed structure) or Scorsese (with its use of voice over plastered throughout). Watching this film is a little bit like watching millions of other war films, or films about drug addiction and PSD and bank robbers. We’ve certainly seen it all before, though probably on separate films. This one puts them all together. It looks really impressive and even if stylistically is all over the place (and when I say “all over the place”, I do mean it!! There’s a shot from inside a butt hole! Yes, you heard me right!), I won’t deny that I enjoyed bits of it throughout (though I would have certainly cut at least 20 minutes).

The real thing to take back home from this is a stunning tour-de-force performance from Tom Holland. We’ve always known he was a good actor, ever since his break-out role in the 2012 “The Impossible “, stealing the limelight from Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor, but here the fact that the film seems to be a collection of 3 or 4 different films together allows him to show off a wider range of emotions, more that in any other films (well certainly he can’t do too much in Spider-man, though I did like him in there too).

I though he was really impressive in this and I could hardly take my eyes off him (He did remind me of Di Caprio in Basketball Diaries) Not as convincing (though not for lack of trying, but just because she was miscast in the role and she looks way too young) is Ciara Bravo who plays his “love interest” (I’m keeping it keeping this vague to avoid spoilers).

Ultimately “Cherry”, however polished it may look, is just a bit of a mess, full of itself and actually rather hollow, with nothing to add to the tens and tens of film about PSD we’ve seen before (or drug addiction for that matter). Also the tagged-on ending felt so abrupt and un-earned that I couldn’t restrain myself from saying aloud: “really?!?”…. A bit cheap really.I wish I could have liked it more because Holland really deserves some kudos for this (though he is young and his time will come sooner or later), so my 3 stars are only there because of him, but actually the film is a solid

“Cherry” will be released on Apple + in March.