**THE UGLY: ‘CHERRY’**

WRITING: 60
ACTING: 65
LOOK: 40
SOUND: 75
FEEL: 65
NOVELTY: 55
ENJOYMENT: 60
RE-WATCHABILITY: 50
INTRIGUE: 50
EXPECTATIONS: 40

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**THE GOOD:**

The Devil All the Time already proved that Tom Holland is capable of more than web-slinging and has a natural ability to bring out his darker side. Cherry cements that, even if his performance is hardly anything he’ll win any acting awards for.

The soundtrack is likeably laid-back and catchy and puts a weird spin on the bizarrely depressing storyline.

There are times when the Russo brother’s vision and direction are as sharp and great as we’ve come to expect from their MCU work, such as during the dynamic war sequences or throughout most of the tensely edited final act.

What Cherry does well is slowly build up the pressure around the main character, leading to his slow and difficult descent into depression, anxiety and delinquency. This process feels convincing and at times, painfully palpable. There is a clear sense of things going from bad to worse, which helps to maintain interest throughout the film.

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**THE BAD:**

This film is all over the place visually. It’s like the Russo brothers had a hard time deciding what kind of visual style they wanted to go for. The colour palette shifts all the time; the cinematography and editing keep changing in style and it’s almost impossible to keep up with the film due to the lack of consistency.

While the overall story is simple enough and the script tackles themes that need to be brought up more, it feels as if the emotional exploration is incomplete, as the movie doesn’t allow itself time to stop and contemplate things before moving onto the next chapter in Cherry’s life.

The people surrounding Cherry feel very one-dimensional and do not bear much impact on the overall story. They are there just to flesh out the script and avoid making this a one-man show. They show up and they disappear again, with Clara Bravo (great name!) being the sole exception. This, coupled with the almost sensational life story presented by the Russos, makes it difficult to form an emotional attachment to this film.

I’m not completely convinced this film is a good depiction of US war veterans, their PTSD and drug/alcohol/mental health/relationship problems, even if it feels mostly realistic.

After everything that the film offers its audience, it is unclear exactly what it is trying to tell us and the conclusion could leave many viewers feeling unsatisfied.

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**THE UGLY:**

I’d love for there to exist a Shitty Bank in the real world.

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**THE VERDICT:**

_While in no way particularly original, memorable or even emotional, Cherry isn’t quite as bad as most people make it out to be._

**56% = :heavy_minus_sign: = UGLY**