Luke (Robert Sheehan) and Malachy (Rupert Grint) are two best mates who, during One Formative Summer, find their friendship severely tested by the arrival of local minx Michelle (Kimberley Nixon) and debauched sessions of booze and drugs in their native Belfast.
Set around a leisure centre named after the Titanic, Cherrybomb exhibits many of the attributes we’ve come to associate with that ill-fated vessel. The film is not short on ambition and co-creators Lisa Barros D’Sa and Glenn Leyburn must be applauded for landing Harry Potter’s Mr. Grint and for securing David Holmes for the soundtrack.
The directors have, moreover, faced an uphill battle getting this movie into a cinema near you and have utilised viral marketing, Facebook and all the other strategems we’ve come to associate with “fan power” (or in plain English, clever producer/director power).
Sadly, it’s easy to understand why distributors weren’t all that interested. Cherrybomb has plenty of moxy and exuberance but in terms of tone, narrative and focus it struggles to stay afloat. Like last year’s Situations Vacant or any number of youth oriented pictures, the film provides a stark testament against going with the flow; giddy zigzagging between domestic drama, romance and teen high jinx is rarely a valid substitute for a proper three-act structure.
Still, Messrs. Grint and Sheehan are charming company for the duration, the tunes keep on coming and it’s a lovely glossy looking production. That collective whooshing sound you can hear in the background is us gearing up for the directors’ sophomore effort with baited breath.