Earlier this month on March 12th, Apple TV dropped Tom Holland’s newest film, Cherry, and I took the opportunity to use my free trial to watch it. It was directed by the Russo Brothers, who are primarily known for their work on the Marvel movies, but this is far from a superhero film. It’s based on Nico Walker’s memoir of the same name, with Tom Holland credited as the title character. I don’t quite understand why that’s his name, but I didn’t read the book, so I can’t really judge their decision not to include an explanation.
Cherry addresses controversial subjects, such as drug addiction and PTSD, so I would warn potential viewers to be cautious if these topics are triggering in any way. Some of the scenes are graphic, but Tom Holland stated numerous times that he and the crew spoke with various groups of people who have lived through some of these traumatic experiences to make sure they weren’t glorifying these sensitive issues.
The acting was insane, specifically by Tom Holland and Ciara Bravo. After growing up with Ciara on Big Time Rush and seeing Tom as Spider-Man, they were unrecognizable in these roles. I can’t imagine having to do everything they did with a giant camera in my face and still manage to perform so flawlessly.
There was a lot going on with the plot that keeps the movie going for two and a half hours, but it was an engaging story that was organized well. I thought the series of events made sense for the characters and their decisions, though some of the scenes felt a little clunky. It seemed like they rushed certain parts of the movie that should’ve been explored more and certain parts were drawn out when they didn’t need to be.
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t too pleased with the ending. Without giving too much away, it was open-ended and left a lot of questions unanswered. Having an ending like that is bound to receive mixed feelings from the audience, but I do like movies with ambiguous endings. However, this one just wasn’t for me.
Overall, I did enjoy the movie and would definitely watch it again. I think the actors deserve more recognition for their performances, especially since their characters were so different from what they’re used to. If the casting wasn’t so well done, I may not have liked it as much. Still, I think people should form their own opinions because what I like or dislike may not be the same as the next person. And if you don’t have Apple TV, a free trial is always nice to take advantage of.