A Film Review
Based on Nico Walker’s 2018 novel of the same name, Cherry drops viewers into a series of flashpoints that emerge from one man’s return to the center of the opioid crisis in Cleveland, Ohio. Starring Tom Holland as Cherry, Ciara Bravo as Emily and directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, this film details a young man’s plight from the status of a distinguished, wartime soldier to that of a hopeless drug addict.
The film begins with an armed bank robbery that quickly journeys back in time to follow Cherry and Emily as they navigate high school, then break up so that she can go to college and he, the army. They quickly get married before he departs to an overseas post. The camera follows Cherry through the grueling challenges of basic training, drills and battle practice — all culminating in a necessary venture across the desert of Iraq within an American military caravan.
Upon his return home to Cleveland, Cherry and his fellow veterans receive a hero’s welcome. However the film slows to capture expressions of confusion on Cherry’s face while Emily meets him at the ceremony. More than half way through the film, Cherry is diagnosed with severe post-traumatic stress disorder while his wife, by then, is a consistent user.
Through this semi-fictitious narrative, the Russo brothers reel in a strong critique of Cleveland and its socio-economic crisis. As a small city that is limited by its own, vacuous economy, the Russos extend empathy to Nico’s ideas, since they, too, share the same hometown and are equally familiar with the city’s limitations.
Release date:
February 26, 2021 in theaters
March 12, 2021 Apple TV+
Jill Conner, New York
