Review of Cherry (2010) by Chase P — 03 Oct 2011

This was a pleasant surprise. Funny how some films that appear to be pure fluff, judging by the cover art and the description can turn out to be unknown gems. I queued this up, expecting some lightweight coming of age drama and got a very well done, thoughtful story of a young man struggling to find his place in a highly competitive, Ivy League college.

Kyle Gallner is Aaron, a freshman with a real artistic talent who finds himself in the engineering program to please his domineering engineer mother (Stephanie Vindetto). He meets Linda (Laura Allen), an older woman in a Life Drawing class and becomes friends with her.

The acting was quite good, and the story flowed naturally. These are not perfect people dealing with superficial problems. Aaron struggles in his design class and with fitting in to college life, while Linda has personal issues and problems with self-esteem.

Add to this Linda's fourteen year old, mature beyond her years daughter, and a volatile cop (Esai Morales) for a boyfriend, and Linda's plate is pretty full. But these three damaged souls provide a space for healing for each other.

This one moved me with its tenderness and its honesty.