{"id":22333,"date":"2021-03-11T11:57:22","date_gmt":"2021-03-11T19:57:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=22333"},"modified":"2021-03-11T11:57:22","modified_gmt":"2021-03-11T19:57:22","slug":"cherry-is-too-flashy-and-stylized-for-its-own-good","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=22333","title":{"rendered":"CHERRY is Too Slick and Stylized for its Own Good"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/24_0005_C-merged-Copy.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2206\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>This feature will be available for streaming via Apple\nTV+ on March 12<sup>th<\/sup>, 2021.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Based on the bestselling book of the same name by Nico\nWalker, <em>Cherry<\/em> is a drama that tackles the massive drug and opioid-addiction\nproblem plaguing the US. The movie boasts some major talent behind the camera\nwith directors Anthony and Joe Russo, most famous for their work on Marvel\nfeatures like <em>Captain America: The Winter Soldier<\/em>, <em>Avengers: Infinity\nWar<\/em> and <em>Avengers: Endgame<\/em>. The filmmakers and cast certainly do\ntheir best to provide plenty of searing drama, but the end result feels far too\nslick and polished, also suffering from some tonal imbalances.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/cherry-03.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-22334\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cherry (Tom Holland) is a college student unhappy and\ndisaffected by his future life prospects. His attitude changes for the better\nafter meeting and falling for Emily (Ciara Bravo), but it\u2019s a short-lived\nreprieve after she considers moving to another country. Unsure of his own\nfuture, the protagonist decides to enlist in the US Army and is sent into a war\nzone. The movie depicts the trauma he experiences as well as its permanent\neffects on his psyche upon his return. It also details his attempts at\nreconnecting with Emily and a growing drug addiction issue which ultimately\nleads him to rob banks in order to continue his habit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/cherry-04.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-22335\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The performers work their hardest to believably convey a\ngritty picture of modern life filled with personal tragedy. The character of\nCherry is forced to react to numerous horrific events and display addictive\nbehavior as he spirals downward. It\u2019s a meaty role for any actor. The suffering\nof his cohorts is also depicted, as well as their rash, panicked and sometimes\nunhinged actions as they find themselves falling further and further into debt.\nAmidst the grimness, a dealer named Pills &amp; Coke (Jack Reynor) adds a hint\nof levity to the proceedings with his blunt observations about the behavior of\nhis clients. &nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But oddly enough, the filmmakers don\u2019t always choose the\nmost appropriate cinematic techniques to capture all these hardships. In fact,\nthe movie uses a steady barrage of unnecessary camera tricks throughout. The\nphotography is sharp and impressive, but it feels as if every other shot\ninvolves some kind of a visual tweak or effect. There are shots that play with\nfocus and others capturing using eccentric lenses. When Cherry goes into basic\ntraining, there\u2019s a sequence with captions appearing onscreen that look like\nsomething out of a comic book. One assumes that this was all done to keep the\notherwise bleak story vibrant and exciting, but it ends up adding artifice to\nthe proceedings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/cherry-02-fixed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-22336\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And even though some of the attempts at humor result do in\nthe odd laugh, just as many gags fall flat. The movie does have a running joke\nin which banks and other institutes are given amusingly broad, generic names\nthat slowly become more negative and explicit. It\u2019s funny at first, but when events\ntake a more dangerous turn, lives are at risk and we\u2019re supposed to be\nconcerned for the fates of these figures, having sight gags clearly visible in\nthe background doesn\u2019t engage the viewer in the bigger emotional plight of the\ncharacters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/cherry-05.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-22337\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So, while the actors are solid, the overly flashy visuals\nand jumbled tone often feel incongruous and ill-advised. The end effect certainly\ntakes away any gravitas that the story intended about opioids and drugs taking\nhold and ruining the lives of everyday people. Instead, the constant storytelling\ntricks serve as a distraction that frequently takes one out of the experience. <em>Cherry<\/em>\nhas noble intentions, but its hyperkinetic approach to the story is overdone and\nundermines all the issues the movie is attempting to bring to light.&nbsp; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This feature will be available for streaming via Apple TV+ on March 12th, 2021. Based on the bestselling book of the same name by Nico Walker, Cherry is a drama that tackles the massive drug and opioid-addiction problem plaguing the US. The movie boasts some major talent behind the camera with directors Anthony and Joe [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":22338,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[206,1654,2062,2789,4191,4194,4195,4196,4412,6251,6318,6321,10118,23019],"class_list":["post-22333","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-206","tag-apple-tv","tag-autobiography","tag-biopic","tag-cherry","tag-cherry-film-review","tag-cherry-movie-review","tag-cherry-review","tag-ciara-bravo","tag-drama","tag-drug-addiction","tag-drugs","tag-jack-reynor","tag-tom-holland"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22333","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22333"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22333\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}