“Mining Empathy” Angela Russo-Otstot & Jessica Goldberg on ‘Cherry’

In the 2018 best selling novel Cherry by Nico Walker about a returned army medic suffering from PTSD who became a serial bank robber after a heroin addiction put him into staggering debt. It was the basis of a movie of the same name. We spoke with screenwriters Angela Russo-Otstot and Jessica Goldberg about bringing this story to the screen.

“The book doesn’t have a strong plot. It’s more of a series of vignettes,” said Jessica Goldberg (Parenthood, The Path). “The first challenge was finding the frame for the movie. Pretty early on, we decided it was going to be a love story.” This decision slightly shifted the thematic focus from the novel.

Angela Russo-Ostot (The Shield, V) continued, “We’ve been asked about it being too masculine a film for us, but I do think, for us as women, we both have written in some of these arenas before. What we tried to do is open up the character’s perspective, and mine empathy toward Cherry, from everyone ranging from people like himself to people who couldn’t be further removed from it.”

Owning the Adaptation

“I feel very connected to the story,” said Angela, a Cleveland native familiar with the setting of the story. “There’s a lot of crossover that exists, on an intimate level, in terms of understanding the world, the textures, the people and the grit.”

Jessica Goldberg & Angela Russo-Otstot

The setting for the movie is essentially its own character. “I can’t imagine it being set anywhere else,” said Angela, particularly in regards to the opioid crisis. “The city of Cleveland very much reflects the existential crisis Cherry is undergoing. I think the Russo brothers beautifully capture that, especially in the opening scenes with the hollowed-out buildings as Cherry is driving his truck. His surroundings are visually informing his inner crisis in a profound way. Cherry is somebody who can really be torn down by the toxic masculinity arising from the institutions he comes up against.”

In addition to adding a familiar grit to the screenplay, the writers also played with various narrative techniques to elevate the story. “The book is somewhat of a linear collection of experiences, although there is a prologue that jumps forward in time. But, having the freedom to imagine flashbacks, Cherry’s imagining of other people, Cherry’s inability to see certain people at particularly poignant moments, his need to break the fourth wall and connect to the audience, picking the prose from the book to support that… that was all a lot of fun. It was really done in an effort to illuminate what the book does so well; capture a sense of passion, empathy, and understanding for him.”

The writers also spent a great deal of time trying to figure out how to best interpret what was going on in Cherry’s mind. “We needed to divide the story into chapters that felt very concentrated and tonally representative of where he’s situated in his journey and how he’s taking in the world around him.”

Jessica expanded, “I’ve written about these themes since I was a playwright – the oppressed working class America, addiction, kids searching for meaning, and a lack of parents.

So I think you just put yourself into all of that, plus our own experiences of loving people who are addicts to adapt the book. That was really useful in creating the character of Emily (Ciara Bravo), Cherry’s girlfriend.”

Emily is not a prominent character in the novel. “We felt there were a lot of opportunities to personalize the story, make it ours, and use those personal feelings and bring them to the movie through Emily.”

Empathy for Anti-Heroes

In the story, Cherry and Emily are both heroin addicts so creating empathy was essential in allowing the audience to connect with them.

“In the beginning of the movie, you meet this young man with a unique, poetic vision of the world. He’s struggling and searching to find meaning. He falls in love with an impulsive girl [Emily] who is ill-equipped to handle the stark reality.”

Combining a lack of nature and nurture into the story, the plot also made it clear there wasn’t a solid infrastructure to help Cherry come back to the world after being on the battlefield.

Emily (Ciara Bravo)

“That’s the real tragedy of it. Even if Cherry wanted to come out the other end, he wouldn’t be able to. He didn’t have the support, so by the time they devolved into their heroin addiction and Cherry is robbing banks to support it, there’s a real sense of desperation attached to it. That was important to identify, because there’s nothing glamorous about it,” emphasized Angela.

One of the more ironic points in the film is that Cherry steps into the shoes of those who caused him harm, somewhat mimicking the Drill Sergeants who screamed at him as he screams at bank tellers to hand over their money.

Addiction & PTSD Themes

Many stories that cover addiction or PTSD focus on one element, but this story manages to tackle both. Angela said, “For us, one feeds into the other. It’s a series of circumstances that roll out from one decision this man made that he wasn’t prepared for.”

Because Cherry doesn’t have a structure in place to help him acclimate to civil life, he discovers addiction as a coping mechanism. “As a society, we’ve failed both of these two young individuals. That’s something we latched onto in this story. The odds are stacked against them.”

Tackling PTSD, Big Pharma, opioids, and an overworked VA healthcare system, Cherry highlights many issues that reflect today’s society. Without a systemic lifeline in place, neither of these “stigmatized conditions” are getting the treatment they require. “Something we don’t touch on, but was very much in our minds, is that these young people have been failed by society to some degree.”

Jessica said, “They are interlinked. PTSD is often medicated and I think we have to ask ourselves why that is. After all of these wars, people come back addicts.” There’s a scene when Cherry finally sees a physician and he’s asked, “Have you tried oxycontin?” as a go-to treatment.

In addition to failing to help these people, addicts and PTSD victims are often punished for their actions which perpetuates the painful cycle. The story is also meant to share a sign of hope despite the ongoing pain in Cherry’s life.

Cinematic Turns

While on set, Angela ended up writing a scene at the bus stop because the cinematic version of the story needed a “turn.” Jessica said, “As a screenwriter, you have to think about those twists and turns where you dig deeper into the emotional trajectory of Cherry and Emily.”

Angela said, “As you’re finding these peaks and valleys, these twists and turns, you have to start with the primary themes. These are two young people have a deep desire to overcome the odds. They have dreams. They have hopes. But, they don’t know if they’ll be able to get back to where they started, and that’s the moment where they quite literally devolve into addiction.”

Both characters are seeking avoidance of their current situation while being hopeful of new beginnings. “We always knew that was a place we wanted to get to, and knowing that, it felt very important to show the row of challenges as authentic as possible. Take them through the peaks so the valleys feel more severe.”

Cherry (Tom Holland)

Goldberg and Russo-Otstot discussed the importance of directors Joe and Anthony Russo (of Avengers and Captain America fame) in contouring the story. “You sit at a table once you have a draft and they read the movie out loud.” The idea was to capture the poetry of the narrator’s voice from the book, rather than build an empathic superhero. “We were certainly encouraged to break style and throw out the rules. They were very integral to the process of finding the voice of the film.”

Cherry’s Perspective

Within that voice, there are also some surprising comedy sprinkled in the darker moments. “Without the comedy, I don’t think we would have made it to the end of the movie. We needed it in order to survive, just like the characters did,” joked the screenwriters about a scene where Cherry is wearing party sunglasses while robbing a bank.

The humor in the film is a combination of the straight character (Emily) and a more self-aware character (Cherry). “These characters inhabit a world and place that requires a sense of humor.”

Despite the 142-minute running time of the film, the writers actually cut several moments early on (non-narrative points between Cherry and Emily) but still had to create a discipline that everything comes from Cherry’s POV to make the story flow for such an extended period of time.

Toward the end of the film, the writers still see a glimpse of hope for the audience. “You want an emotional journey. For me, I felt really grateful for the last image of the movie. They’ve been through hell, but there’s this window of hope. I think for people living with addicts, that crack of light is so important.”  

by Brock Swinson

Freelance writer and author Brock Swinson hosts the podcast and YouTube series, Creative Principles, which features audio interviews from screenwriters, actors, and directors. Swinson has curated the combined advice from 200+ interviews for his debut non-fiction book 'Ink by the Barrel' which provides advice for those seeking a career as a prolific writer.

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