Cherry Review: I Got a Lot of Sadness in My Face

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Cherry was a pretty solid movie. The first half did feel better than the second, heavier half.

What Happens in Cherry?

Cherry follows the life of Nico Walker. Interestingly, the movie starts with the last few scenes of the movie and then cuts back a few years prior. The first cut leads to Nico in college and finding the love of his life. After finding out the girl of his dreams is moving to a new country, Nico registers himself in the army and is sent to Iraq. After two years of fighting, Nico returns to America as a broken man and suffers from drug abuse and PTSD.

Who Are The Characters in Cherry?

Nico Walker, played by Tom Holland, is a troubled young man who has lived a long life. After a traumatic time in the military overseas, he returns and fights the biggest battle of his life. He is a resourceful young man whose life has sucked away the happy kid he was when he started college. 

Emily, played by Clara Bravo, is Nico’s love interest who has stuck by his side through it all. After waiting two years for Nico to return, she doesn’t get the same man back. She falls into the same hole as Nico, and the already scarred college student transforms into an addict.

Cherry Review

Cherry was a pretty solid movie overall. For a movie that is two and a half hours long, it held my attention for most of that time. This movie also covers some deeper topics and was shot using a variety of angles and formats.

The lower points of the movie come from the second half of the movie after Nico returns from the war. When he starts on his path of drug abuse, it is dark and sombre. At this point, the movie gets heavy and doesn’t let up the intensity.

Although this fits well with the theme and the ideas that were meant to be portrayed, this can lead to the viewer being emotionally drained, as more and more dire events spring up with no real end in sight. This is a point where the long runtime works against itself. This portion of the movie is definitely an area that is meant to hit the viewer hard, and it does achieve that. However, without any sources of emotional relief, the viewer can lose interest over time.

The better parts of the movie come from the first half. Here, the characters are introduced, and they are ones that are loveable. Even the side characters are fun to watch as they interact with the protagonist. During this time in the movie, comedic events are used during harsher parts of the movie to lighten the mood and not drain the viewer emotionally like in the second half.

Nico Walker is a different look for Tom Holland, compared to our friendly neighbourhood spiderman, but he does a great job. This role showcases his range, and Holland handles the emotional and character shifts with ease.

Another great aspect of the movie overall is the use of fourth wall breaking and music to create the atmosphere. When the music is happy while the scene is sad, this dichotomy is an intriguing aspect that was chosen and definitely regains some attention. The fourth wall breaking was also useful when creating bits of comedy to bring out a laugh in tense situations. The myriad of shots used throughout the movie was also interesting, as the dynamic work really caught my eye.

Overall, Cherry was a pretty solid movie. The first half did feel better than the second, heavier half. Either way, this was still worth a watch and one you should consider if you have Apple TV. The only thing to watch out for is that this movie does have a good amount of profanity.