CHERRY

Tom Holland     Clara Bravo     Jack Reynor

 

            Young Cherry (Holland) is told he popped his cherry the first time he kills someone in the war in Iraq as a soldier.  The film starts when he is in college and feeling aimless, when he becomes smitten with Emily (Bravo).  She has something that always appeals to him (whimsy, sexy, tempting), and they become a pair, and then suddenly she announces she is moving to Montreal.  She wants him to be “adult” about it, but he is crushed.  So crushed he joins the Armed Services, something she never expected, which causes her to change her plans.  They have a torrid romance before he leaves, vowing to stay true to one another.

            The movie has an expected trajectory, and illustrates so well how young people do not/cannot anticipate what is going to happen to them in new ventures.  As is said, “War is hell”, and Cherry is unprepared for the horrors of being a medic.  Soon after he finishes basic training, he is ready to go home; but it will be many months before that day comes.

            In the meantime, he does provide medal-earning service, and arrives home to a new house Emily’s parents helped them obtain.  Things look rosy, except Cherry is having nightmares, night sweats and other symptoms associated with PTSD.  For some reason not explained, he does not get the appropriate help his condition requires, and not only does he start self-medicating, Emily becomes addicted as well.

            It’s predictable what is going to transpire after this.  The couple gets into a heap of trouble, and the only question is whether/how they will pull out of their troubles.

            After helming adventure films such as two Avengers movies and two Captain America movies, I’m puzzled about the Russo family (Anthony, Joe, Angela) turning to a production like Cherry, which is basically a character study, not only of Tom Holland’s character, but also that of Clara Bravo and Jack Reynor.  They fit into stereotypes in the drug world, but for a character study, more filling out of the characters’ psychological make-up is required.  The film would have been much more interesting if even the families of origin for these three would have been explicated.

            Some evidence that the filmmakers intended something of a satire is indicated by various signs we see, such as “Bank of F….. America”, and “Dr. Whomever.”  These seem lame in the background of severe opioid addiction, so it’s hard to see them as funny.  I think inserting these jabs into the seriousness of the story and the main characters is a mistake.

            Tom Holland is an award-winning actor of Spider Man and Avengers fame, and although his character here is decidedly different from those, he is able to show a much more vulnerable man who, nevertheless, is able to slog through diversity.  Supporting him in a perhaps idealistic character is Clara Bravo in an excellent performance representing the female always lovely in her loyalty and care, even with the facial marks of a meth addict.  Jack Raynor envelopes his character as a drug dealer par excellence who never gets the overall picture.

 

The Russos have exceeded their capabilities in their attempt to portray a character with major difficulties coping with real war and its aftermath.

 

Grade:  C                              By Donna R. Copeland

MIDSOMMAR

Florence Pugh     Jack Reynor     Will Poulter     William Jackson-Harper

Vilhelm Blomgran     Archie Madekwe     Ellora Torchia

     Midsommar brings to mind romantic associations to a festival, summer/winter solstice, and cultural traditions.  How much writer-director Ari Aster (Heredity) depicts actual traditions in this film and how much he embroiders them with his own fantasies, I’m not sure, but suspect that most of what is seen in the film is from Aster’s own imagination. The film certainly goes way, way out in its characterizations and plot, so that by the end you know you’ve seen a freaky, quintessential horror show.  It’s helped along by Pawel Pogorzelski’s eloquent, captivating, and beautifully composed cinematography and The Haxan Cloak’s music that draws from genres ranging from the medieval to the hauntingly eerie to the most dissonant modern.  

     Midsommar begins as a thoroughly American kind of drama, with a couple, Dani (Pugh) and Christian (Reynor), who are going through ups and downs.  She is very needy, especially after a tragedy in her family, and his friends urge him to ditch her for someone else.  A trip to Sweden might be the answer.  Pelle (Blomgran) has invited his close friends [Christian, Mark (Poulter), and Josh (Jackson-Harper)] to go with him to his native Sweden for the Midsommar festival.  He grew up in a commune, so they would all be welcomed by his huge family. They hadn’t counted on Dani going with them, but she wangles an invitation, and Pelle lets her know how happy he is that she is coming along.

     The American group arrives in Sweden, and are taken to country fields sprinkled with people who turn out to be part of Pelle’s large family.  He introduces them all—ever the gallant host—and his friends are awestruck.  They will be even more awestruck when they impulsively decide to trip on drugs supplied by the communal community.  Dani is reluctant to imbide, but under peer pressure gives in; only to re-experience the tragedy she just endured.  But she gets hold of herself, and proceeds with the others to Pelle’s commune, where there are throngs of people all dressed in white.

     The rest of the story is about what the friends encounter and experience there, which ranges from the simple (helping cook meals) to the esoteric (engaging—not necessarily willingly—in bizarre rituals).  The viewer likely will experience what most of the American characters experience—a curiosity followed by unease and anxiety, even hysteria, and, finally, horror.

     Some may find comfort in preordained events—at least from godly figures (there’s nothing you can do about it, so you can’t be blamed)—but when they’re orchestrated by controllers with an ulterior motive, it can be the most unsettling and horrible experience one can imagine.  That is what Ari Aster does with this film.  He subjects his characters—and maybe viewers as well—to events they’ve never dreamed of, prompting us all to wonder what we would do in those circumstances.

     After her stint as Katherine in Lady Macbeth (2016) and here, Florence Pugh establishes herself as an actress with range and talent.  That being said, her role, as written, does not provide much of a showcase moment.  It’s actually true for all the characters; actors are not given opportunities to shine. Aster’s intention appears to be emphasizing story over characterization, specifically in the contrasts between cultures.  He jabs Americans a bit in their general disregard for tradition and in their inclination to break rules (a bit of “ugly Americans”), but the Swedes’ traditions as shown here evoke strong opinions about attitudes about death and individual agency.

     The film’s two-hour twenty-minute length may stretch the viewer’s tolerance; certainly, some of the over-the-top last scenes could have been cut, and making a better film.

A cross-cultural trip like one you have probably never seen.

Grade:  B                                    By Donna R. Copeland

SING STREET

Ferdia Walsh-Peelo   Aiden Gillen   Maria Doyle Kennedy   Jack Reynor   Lucy Boynton

          Sing Street will make you laugh and keep you entranced, but with melancholic shifts, bits of horror, and wincing at the nitty-gritty of long-term relationships.  Semi-autobiographical by the writer/director/producer John Carney (Once, Begin Again), it tells the story of a teenager trying to find his identity and make his way in life despite numerous obstacles.  His parents quarrel frequently, his mother is depressed, as is his older brother, and the father is going through hard times financially.  For that reason, he takes his younger son out of an expensive school and enrolls him in public school.  Conor (Walsh-Peelo) is bullied at his new school, not only by a punk, but also by the head of school, Brother Baxter. 

          Serendipitously, a friend with ambition appears, giving advice about how to deal with a bully, and when he finds out Conor likes music and sings, he has the idea that the two of them should form a band.  They recruit successfully, and give themselves the name Sing Street.  Conor’s bossy older brother Brendan (Reynor) coaches him by critiquing the band and giving helpful advice like developing their own sound and making videos.  He can be pompous at times, and revels in his pop-psychology pronouncements (He has a picture of Freud on his wall.), but Conor is oblivious to the bluster, and takes Brendan’s advice on his own terms.  We get it; music will be his salvation.

          Much of the charm of this delightful film is the apparent happenstance that occurs over and over again.  For instance, Conor gazes across the street one day and sees a beautiful brunette (Boynton) sitting on the front steps.  He develops an instant crush, goes to talk to her, and when he finds out she is a model, he asks her to be in his video.  She is one year older than he is—and much more experienced—but is charmed by his sincerity and creativity, and decides his name should be ‘Cosmo’, a more suitable name for someone in a band.  She agrees to be in the video, and when she arrives at the shoot, she is not only a hit visually, but knows something about staging and costumes, which the band needs.  (This is all the encouragement Conor needs to experiment with different “looks”, which he borrows liberally from the rock music LP covers that his brother lends him.)

          The rest of the story charts the ups and downs of the band, the romance between Cosmo and Raphina, the gradual dissolution of Conor’s family, and Brendan’s confessions of how he sees himself vis a vis his brother.  Sing Street has a victorious concert towards the end when Cosmo roasts Brother Baxter with:  “You wear a dress and tell me not to wear brown shoes.”  Carney is a master at writing script; there are sage pronouncements sprinkled throughout the movie.

          Carney was interested in casting unknown actors, so much of the cast is just that, except for Aiden Gillen (Game of Thrones, Calvary), Maria Doyle Kennedy (Jupiter Ascending, 1,000 Times Goodnight, Downton Abbey), and Jack Reynor (Macbeth, Doll House).  But Walsh-Peelo especially shows a great deal of talent in acting and singing, and his buddies in the band (Ben Carolan, Mark McKenna, Percy Chamburuka, Conor Hamilton, Ian Kenny, and Karl Rice) are firm back-ups.  The 1980’s music is nostalgic (Duran Duran, The Cure, The Jam, Hall & Oates), and Carney composed eight numbers with Gary Clark that mesh nicely with the better-known works.

How the formation of a band solves numerous adolescent challenges.

Grade:  A                                  By Donna R. Copeland