The Perks of Being a Wallcrawler
A jumbled and incoherent coming-of-age mess. I feel like this is what happens when filmmakers get a blank check and are surrounded by people too afraid to challenge their ideas.
With half the budget and a runtime restriction this might have been an interesting film. Instead the filmmaking is flashy and hollow, not driven by necessity but indulgence.
On a normal set, when a director says he wants an intricate crane shot for a throwaway shower scene, the line producer just laughs at his obvious attempt at humor and ignores the request. However, when said director(s) happened to just helm a corporate juggernaut that smashed box office records, no one does the important job of saying “He guys…why don’t we NOT do that”, or “Hey guys, is that really necessary in this scene?”.
This film is nearly 2 and half hours of moments just like that. A scene that carries no narrative or character weight will be this elaborate, stylized, set piece that draws more attention to itself than the story it’s supposed to be serving.
Committed performances from Tom Holland and Ciara Bravo can’t distract you from the 2000s Music Video visuals being thrown into your eye holes.
It’s unfortunate because the link between PTSD and the ongoing opioid epidemic are stories that desperately need to be told. I just wish “Cherry” was more interested in that as a human story, and not as a fun vehicle for 🔥 slowmo dolly shots.
