Cherry is not just a tale of coping and addiction, it’s also the tale of love. The Russo brothers’ passion project, out in theaters on February 26, follows an Army veteran (Tom Holland) and his wife as they struggle to overcome his opioid addiction together.
Ciara Bravo, who plays Emily, spoke to Screen Rant about her onscreen chemistry with Holland and the steps she took to authentically portray their story.
Can you tell me about Emily and her relationship with Cherry?
Ciara Bravo: Emily is a character that's very special to me. She's got a very special place in my heart for many reasons. I just really admire her strength as a character.
Just a little bit of background, she's Cherry's partner in this. We first meet her in college, and we get to watch them fall in love. Then we get to watch them go down some really dark, scary paths later in the film. But still holding on to that love that we see in the beginning of the film as a sort of life preserver.
But when I first read the script, what really drew me to Emily was something that I felt like I recognized in my own upbringing. I feel like in the Midwest, we define success through family and career. If you fall in love, and you have a partner and you have a family and you have a job, then you'll be happy for the rest of your life. I think what we see through Emily, is what can happen when you don't take care of yourself both mentally and physically. But you still understand why she's holding on to this idea so desperately, and why she's gripping on to this marriage and to this other person in her life, to the point where she ends up losing herself and hurting herself in the process.
Seeing that and recognizing that trend happen in my own life with people that I love very dearly really drew me to her as a character, and it made me want to play her.
Much of the film's emotional resonance hinges on the relationship between Emily and Cherry. How did you and Tom develop that onscreen chemistry?
Ciara Bravo: Oh, such a breeze. Tom is one of the nicest people I've ever met.
But we were lucky that we had a couple weeks before we began shooting to really get to know each other. We sat down, I went over to his house a few times, we watched movies, just like talked and really became friends. And in that friendship, I think we were able to develop something really special onscreen, because we had that level of trust. We knew that we were both willing to go to the places that we needed to go to; we both knew that we would have each other's backs if the other one stumbled, because we were in it together.
It was a dream to work with Tom. I hope that in my career, I get to do it again.
A lot of actors learn about themselves by choosing challenging roles. How did you prepare for such a mentally challenging role?
Ciara Bravo: I just wanted to make sure that I was creating a safe space for myself outside of work, but also doing the proper amount of research so that I can approach this role with as much respect as it deserves. Because this is not just Emily's story, or Cherry's story. This is the story of millions of people worldwide, and I just wanted to make sure that when they watched this movie, they weren't offended, but instead saw and were able to connect with a version of themselves on screen.
I was lucky enough to do some research in Cleveland, going to a rehab facility and speaking to people there. One of the nurses there in particular had a very shockingly similar story to Emily's, which I found to be very helpful because she was able to explain to me what battling a demon like an opioid addiction really looks like and how it changes you as a person. Being able to answer those questions that I had for myself and for Emily as a character through that conversation, I think, really allowed me to go to those places and feel more comfortable telling an accurate and realistic version of the story. I hope, anyway.
The Russo brothers are coming off one of the biggest movies of all time with Avengers. Can you talk to me about the collaboration process of working with them?
Ciara Bravo: Knowing that information going into it was extremely intimidating, because it's like, "Oh, my God. Who are these people? What are they gonna be like?" Because you never know.
But I was very lucky that the brothers are just really extraordinary people. Being able to film in their hometown of Cleveland made it even better, because it felt like it was such a family environment. This was very much a passion project for them, so I felt lucky to be able to be a part of that experience of building and creating this world in this movie.
They're collaborators, through and through. I think that's what makes them so talented; they listen to the people around them, they want to hear the different ideas that everybody has, and they want to explore them. They're artists, and you can really see that. But having your voice respected and heard on set always feels good. It was a great experience.
Cherry starts streaming on Apple TV+ on March 12.