There are a lot of movies in Cherry. Almost too much film.
In an effort to make each chapter or segment stand out from the rest, the Russos brothers treat these moments in Cherry almost as experiments in different genres. While feeling cohesive, Cherry also dips you into a cinematic approach to such a recognizably visual aesthetic as “the hazy first love,” “the nervous drug opera,” or “the pulsating bank robbery”. These are all moments on Kirsch and Emily’s journey, but they could easily have stood on their own as individual films, with additional time and development. Kirsch’s military enrollment and hell in boot camp could really be a detour story in its own right, with Holland and the Russians absorbing anything associated with a headstrong young man trying to find a purpose in military service but enduring torture and just earned PTSD for its problems.
