Anyone who keeps up with pop culture best knows Tom Holland as the latest actor to take on the Peter Parker/Spiderman mantle. Given Marvel Studio‘s mass appeal and constant output as a money-making machine, it’s easy for audiences to overlook Holland’s talents beyond those films. The young actor’s star turn in last year’s adaptation of the novel “The Devil All The Time” shows he’s not afraid to tackle more challenging material than superhero sagas. That performance is arguably the best yet in Holland’s still ascendant career.
Holland looks to tackle the leading role in another literary adaptation with “Cherry.” Based on the 2018 critically acclaimed debut novel of the same name by Nico Walker, Holland plays a college drop-out who enlists in the army, comes home with PTSD, and after succumbing to opioid addiction, begins to rob banks to feed his habit. That’s quite a departure from the friendly neighborhood Spiderman most associate with the actor.
Here’s the official synopsis:
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“Cherry” follows the wild journey of a disenfranchised young man from Ohio who meets the love of his life, only to risk losing her through a series of bad decisions and challenging life circumstances. Inspired by the best-selling novel of the same name, “Cherry” features Tom Holland in the title role as an unhinged character who drifts from dropping out of college to serving in Iraq as an Army medic and is only anchored by his one true love, Emily (Ciara Bravo). When Cherry returns home a war hero, he battles the demons of undiagnosed PTSD and spirals into drug addiction, surrounding himself with a menagerie of depraved misfits. Draining his finances, Cherry turns to bank robbing to fund his addiction, shattering his relationship with Emily along the way. Brought to the screen in bold, gritty fashion by visionary directors Anthony and Joe Russo, “Cherry” is a darkly humorous, unflinching coming-of-age story of a man on a universal quest for purpose and human connection.
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Alongside Holland and Ciara Bravo, “Cherry” also stars Jake Reynor, Michael Rispoli, Jeff Wahlberg, Forrest Goodluck, and Michael Gandolfini. Marvel fans will recognize Anthony & Joe Russo as directors of the two “Captain America” sequels and both “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame.” It’s tempting to speculate that “Cherry” serves as a departure to broader horizons beyond the MCU for the Russo Bros. as much as it does for Holland.
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Angela Russo-Otsot and Jessica Goldberg adapt Walker’s novel for the big screen. Walker wrote the semi-autobiographical story while in federal prison for bank robbery over four years. He was released from prison early in October 2019, roughly around the same time that the film’s production began in Ohio.
After a theatrical release in February, “Cherry” will premiere on AppleTV+ in March as an exclusive to the streaming network. AppleTV+ acquired the film’s distribution rights last September as part of their bid to compete with Netflix, HBO Max, and Amazon Prime in the streaming market. Next to last year’s “Greyhound,” it’s the service’s most prestige film acquisition to date.
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How will audiences consider Holland’s fresh-faced charisma turning foul with a movie about drug addiction and federal crimes? The answer comes next month when “Cherry” releases theatrically in the US on February 26 and premieres globally on Apple TV+ March 12.
