Pratik Handore
Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, who are among the most commercially successful directors of the 21st century, ‘Cherry’ is a crime drama film adapted from the novel of the same title that’s written by Nico Walker. The film stars Tom Holland as an unnamed protagonist who has PTSD from his time spent as a soldier in war-torn Iraq. To cope with his PTSD, he resorts to opioids and starts robbing banks to support his expensive addiction. If the film’s mature subject matter, snarky dialogs, and spectacular performances entertained you, here’s a list of similar movies that will most likely appeal to you. You can watch most of these films like ‘Cherry’ on Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime.
6. Brick (2005)
Rian Johnson’s directorial debut ‘Brick’ is a neo-noir mystery film that follows a high school student, Brendan Frye, searching for answers about his ex-girlfriend’s mysterious death, which leads him into conflict with a local drug lord. On the surface, it might not seem to share many common links with ‘Cherry,’ but ‘Brick’ still contains elements of drugs, stealing, and crime, albeit as storytelling devices and not as underlying themes. The young protagonists’ worldviews in both films are quite similar as well.
5. The Place Beyond The Pines (2012)
Director Derek Cianfrance’s ‘The Place Beyond the Pines’ is a crime drama film starring Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper in the lead roles. The plot revolves around the intertwined lives of Luke, a motorcycle stuntman who moonlights as a bank robber to support his family, Avery, an ambitious cop, and two troubled youngsters who are related to the two men. Although the film’s plot is evidently different from ‘Cherry,’ both films share the commonalities of robberies, drugs, and life of crime.
4. Dope (2015)
‘Dope,’ written and directed by Rick Famuyiwa, is a comedy-crime film that revolves around Malcolm (Shameik Moore) and his friends who come into possession of drugs at an underground party leading them into the dark criminal underbelly of Los Angeles. In comparison to ‘Cherry,’ ‘Dope’ is a much more lighthearted and upbeat film. However, both films are partially about how drugs can adversely affect the lives of young people. On a more trivial note, the lead actors of both films, Holland and Moore, are known for their roles in Spiderman films.
3. Baby Driver (2017)
‘Baby Driver’ is an action crime film written and directed by Edgar Wright. It tells the story of Baby, a getaway driver who suffered a traumatic accident as a child that left him with tinnitus. While both films are miles apart in terms of themes, we recommend this film for how it handles mature themes in a more than sufficiently entertaining fashion, quite similar to ‘Cherry.’ Both films share the common thread of their protagonists getting stuck down the rabbit hole of crime and are desperately trying to quit. Furthermore, just like ‘Cherry,’ the film features a charismatic young Hollywood star in the lead role.
2. American Sniper (2014)
‘American Sniper’ is a biographical war drama film directed by Clint Eastwood and written by Jason Hall. It is loosely based on Chris Kyle’s 2012 memoir of the same name (written along with Scott McEwen and Jim DeFelice). It stars Bradley Cooper as Kyle, a US Navy SEAL Sniper who serves four tours in the Iraq War that affect his mental health and marriage. Like ‘Cherry,’ the movie features an Iraq War veteran suffering from PTSD and struggling to reintegrate himself into civilian life due to the horrors of war he has witnessed. Both films also deal with the effect of PTSD on the loved ones of those experiencing it.
1. Trainspotting (1996)
The Danny Boyle directorial feature ‘Trainspotting’ is a black comedy-drama film based on the novel of the same name by Irvine Welsh. It features Ewan McGregor as the drug addict, Mark Renton, who moves to London in hopes of leaving his addiction behind. The reasons protagonists of both ‘Cherry’ and ‘Trainspotting’ resort to drugs are different, but both movies delve deep into the themes of young people using drugs to escape the harsh realities of their lives and portray the difficulties of quitting the vicious cycle of addiction. ‘Trainspotting’ is considered as one the best films made on the subject of addiction.
Read More: Where Was Cherry Filmed?
