Cherrybomb At Berlinale: Fan Review
By Rose aka Cheeky_Rose
Warning: Contains minor spoilers and a bit of strong language
I want to focus on Rupert Grint and his role as Malachy. A lot of the other reviews contain many spoilers and a real detailed depiction of the movie. I really don’t want to repeat information and give too much away. It’s all about Rupert for me. Let’s face it. It’s his movie and we want to see it for him.
We all know Rupert has talent. We all know he has great range, but until you see Cherrybomb, it’s hard to really understand his level of commitment to his craft and how second nature acting is to him. Ron Weasley and even Ben Marshall haven’t given us what Malachy does. Rupert was made for this role.
The movie opens up with Malachy’s face. He’s bloody, and I mean bloody. However, he’s not focused on that. His eyes are set and his expression dazed. There is so much emotion and history behind his features. Without anyone saying a word, the audience knows something major has happened. Rupert shocked me in the first scene. In the first thirty seconds I knew he would be amazing. He captured the entire incident which made him so wounded and filled up the space with just his face, moreover, his eyes. I knew in that first scene I was in for a real treat. I was ready for Malachy.
Malachy McKinney is a very confident and cheeky bloke. It’s another reason why Rupert shocked me. We’ve all gotten accustomed to his Ron Weasley humor and Ben Marshall shyness, but Mal is NOTHING like that. He’s fierce and very curious. It also helps that he’s drop dead sexy. I loved his cool sense of style and the hair was drool worthy. The quiff was perfect for him! It really gave him a certain… old school flavor and speaking of sex… Mal is very sexually intrigued as well. The directors did a brilliant job not making Malachy seem like a pervert or stalker, but a sexually curious young bloke. There are scenes of him watching girls on the trampoline very closely and of course him watching Crilly have sex on the job. Malachy is a great character for Rupert. He really gave him a freedom to be more daring and show that he can handle more adult themes with ease. I mean, Rupert IS an adult and it’s only natural that he handles adult situations. However, Malachy isn’t just about sex and girls though, no, he’s very smart and is quite frankly a good guy. It’s his “good guy” attitude that makes his relationship with Luke so interesting.
Luke, who is played by Robert Sheehan, does not have the sweet and wholesome life Mal does. Luke is the trouble maker. Causing mayhem runs in his veins. He loves to give Crilly a hard time at the Leisureplex where Mal works. Luke is so extreme and spastic that you wonder how he’s friends with Malachy. As the movie progresses, you begin to understand. Luke’s home life is no fantasy island. His father is an alcoholic. He’s always drunk and isn’t what a bloke needs as a father figure and his brother, is a drug dealer and is also violent. Luke feels trapped. He’s worried he’ll end up the same way, a vicious circle of failure and regrets. The only brightness he has in his life is Malachy. Mal doesn’t judge him. Mal accepts Luke for who he is and it doesn’t matter how hard Luke pushes him or how wild he gets, Mal takes him in. Luke would never say it, but he needs Malachy to keep going. Luke needs Malachy a bit more than Malachy needs him.
So, why would Mal want someone like that as a friend? Well, Mal’s home life is … well… a bit too perfect to me. He has loving parents. He makes them proud he’s an intelligent kid. Luke is Mal’s way out. Luke is Malachy’s escape from his cookie cutter life. With Luke, Mal’s borders fade away and he can… let loose. Luke is real to Malachy, and it’s a realness that he doesn’t have. Mal can be a bit wooden, and Luke breathes in life to him.
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