Why Can't Tom Holland's Young Fanbase Watch 'Cherry'?

Most people know young Tom Holland as Hollywood’s latest iteration of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But lately, Tom’s been branching out of the world of superheroes to take on some more serious and dramatic roles. 

For his next feature film, Cherry, Tom will be playing a character that’s pretty much the opposite of do-gooder Peter Parker. 

Rather than stopping the bad guys, this time Tom is the bad guy, playing the film’s bank-robbing, heroin-addicted protagonist. The movie is a departure for both Tom and the Russo Brothers, who are directing the movie, which has a lot of fans asking: Why is Cherry rated R, and why won't Tom's young fanbase be able to watch? 

Keep scrolling to find out everything you need to know about the R-rated Cherry.

Set in the Russo Brothers’ hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, Cherry is about a young army veteran whose life takes a turn for the worse. Tom Holland stars as the film’s protagonist, the titular Cherry, a young man who grows up in a middle-class home in Ohio but feels disenfranchised and disillusioned by life.

During his freshman year at a Jesuit university outside of Cleveland, Cherry meets the love of his life, Emily (Ciara Bravo). But she soon transfers from the school to a university in Montreal, and Cherry starts to lose his way, eventually flunking out of college. 

He then signs up for the Army in a desperate attempt at getting his life back on track.

However, his life doesn’t magically fall into place once he returns from being at war. In fact, things get much worse. 

A combination of a lack of institutional support for the young vet, a bad case of PTSD, Emily already being addicted to drugs, and running with the wrong crowd, all lead Cherry to develop an addiction of his own. 

When the Percocet pills he and his wife use to get high become impossible to use intravenously, Cherry and Emily turn to heroin.

They soon develop a $1,000 a week addiction, and in an attempt to fund their drug habit, the couple even try to go back to school so they can use Cherry’s G.I. Bill money and federal student loans to buy more drugs. 

But soon, anything they manage to scrounge up isn’t enough and out of desperation, Cherry turns to robbing banks.

Based on the novel by Nico Walker of the same name, Cherry’s R rating is well-deserved considering the rather dark material that it covers. 

Between the violence of war and the depravity of an opioid addiction against the backdrop of a national opioid epidemic, the movie touches on some pretty complicated and mature themes. 

This is also the first time Tom will be playing a darker role than his fans are usually accustomed to and audiences will get to see his acting range as he goes from playing a Marvel superhero to a haunted anti-hero in Cherry.