Cherries ★★★★☆

Review of 'Cherries' which can be found here on the BBC Film Network.

Length: 15:09

Written by Fiona Kissane and directed by Tom Harper

Genre: Drama

Date: 2007

Rating: ★★★★☆

Logline: A class of teenage schoolboys face a stark reality when they are delivered with the news that they are to be conscripted into army training.

Ah, 2007. A time when a fifteen minute film could take over five of those minutes to deliver an inciting incident. How my attention span has depleted since then. This is a professional film with a lot of cinematic quality. (Actually, it would explain a lot if I discovered that this was in fact the first fifteen minutes of a feature.) You'll find it hard to find flaw with any aspect of production. Cinematography is done well considering it is a familiar inner city setting with a good variety of camera shots, perspectives and movement.

Quality too comes from the performances. Starring a fresh faced Alfie Allen, Omari Carter and a very David Cameron looking Neil Dudgeon. Everyone is of high calibre which is no mean feat when it comes to working with a young cast. The dialogue is heavily realistic and rolls of the actors tongues beautifully. Beware some delivery is fast so lines can easily be missed on a first viewing. The banter between boys is witty and entertaining and probably the strongest aspect of the film.

Structurally, I felt problems with pacing. As mentioned, the inciting incident comes in too late for me and almost becomes the midpoint turnaround in plot. There is a lot of time spent in the classroom in the latter half of the film which isn't very visually stimulating and is centred around a lot of debate which although semi interesting, is long winded and feels somehow out of place. The script pushes all the drama through in the dialogue and scrimps on any action. It feels that the film ends just as it's going to get interesting. I would definitely have liked to have followed these characters on their journey after leaving the school, particularly as this is a large cast for a short and consequently some characters who look interesting feature little and looked worthy of development.

The unfortunate part is that the time spent in the set up sequence wasn't enough to convince me that these were likable characters who i wanted to root for. We're introduced to a playground full of adolescent bullies and although this is a pivotal point for the plot, the downside is that I couldn't care less when these characters get a rude awakening later on. I feel that this is the biggest downfall of the piece and disrupts the message the writer intended to deliver. The film kind of becomes a promotional piece which offers a valid option for teenagers rather than invoking the real debate on the morality and consequences of such action. Ultimately, this lost message lessens the overall effectiveness of the film and leaves it unfulfilled.

Best Bit: The premise.

Worst Bit: Lack of drama.

Final thought: Where's all the girls?

Read a condensed review of this film on Twitter here.