Tom Holland is Spiderman. Thanks to the Russo Brothers, it is rather difficult to imagine Holland playing any character who isn’t wearing tights or swinging from a web with Mary Jane. His iconic role as Peter Parker has propelled his popularity among Marvel fans to monolithic proportions. After the release of “Spiderman: Far from Home,” Holland devotees will flock to just about anything he is involved in. Apple TV+ gives audiences a rare opportunity to see Holland expand his acting range for this rather dark role in “Cherry” which received an R-rating. Moviegoers be warned. This is not your friendly neighborhood web slinging feature for the kids. It is far from that.
The folks over at Distractify offered some insight into why “Cherry” received a hard R. They make the claim that Holland’s character is “pretty much the opposite of do-gooder Peter Parker” and becomes a “battered anti-hero.” Apple TV+ are in a unique position as they have a feature film where, rather than thwarting evil and saving lives, Holland is injecting evil and taking lives. The film follows the story of Cherry, a young man who grows up in a midwestern, middle-class family but feels deprived and cast down by society. He meets the love of his life Emily, but she soon moves away for school. Aimless, Cherry drops out of college and joins the military in a last-ditch effort to get his life back on track. Returning from the war, Cherry suffers from PTSD and still lacks a sense of direction in life. He reunites with Emily, who is addicted to drugs, and runs with the wrong crowd. This leads Cherry to develop an addiction of his own. What happens when money runs out and they can’t fund their habit? They turn to robbing banks of course.
“Cherry” is based on Nico Walker’s semi-autobiographical novel of the same name. According to Distractify’s article, the R rating of its film counterpart is “well-deserved” considering how the film portrays drug addiction and thievery. It’s a bold move for the Russo Brother’s in that an R-rating goes against the grain of their usual family friendly Marvel movies. Uncle Ben would be rolling in his grave if he could see his poor Peter Parker now. Watch your beloved Spiderman go from web shooting hero to veteran shooting heroin on Apple TV+ Mar. 12.
