Anthony and Joe Russo have made a name for themselves as the Marvel Cinematic Universe's most prolific directors, with two Captain America movies and two Avengers movies under their belts. Given they've been focused on mega-budget franchise filmmaking since 2014's Captain America: The Winter Soldier, it makes sense they would want to follow that up with something smaller and more personal like Cherry, a gritty, challenging film that includes frequent tonal shifts and experimental flourishes. The plot follows the harrowing and tragic life of the title character (whose name is never actually spoken) as he goes from disaffected college student to army medic to opium addict, and eventually, bank robber. While there is a lot to recommend the film, not all of it is equally successful.

Cherry, which is based on Nico Walker's novel of the same name, is divided into several parts marked by title cards, including a prologue and epilogue. The prologue starts in 2007 as Cherry commits a bank robbery, the latest of many, while explaining his strategy for these thefts directly to the camera. This is just a taste of things to come however, because from there, the movie flashes back to 2002 for Part 1 of the story, after which the action unfolds chronologically.

Part 1 is a love story in which Cherry meets and falls in love with his eventual wife, Emily (Ciara Bravo). While the Russos keep things interesting with creative touches like mixing black and white photography with color, including dialogue that doesn't match the action and intercutting nonlinear shots to highlight specific information, this is by far the weakest part of the film. While Holland and Bravo are both charismatic actors, they lack chemistry. Plus, the story doesn't provide much of an explanation for why the pair fall for each other so completely. As a result, while Cherry and Emily's relationship is a touchstone throughout the film, it never really serves as the anchor it might have been otherwise.

RELATED: The Russos' Tom Holland-Starring Cherry Debuts First Poster - And a Hilarious Misprint

Tom Holland in Cherry

It’s not until Part 2 that the plot really gets going as Cherry is shipped off to basic training after impulsively enlisting in the army during a brief breakup with Emily. Much of this part of the film is reminiscent of the first half of Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, a wryly funny, satirical look at an institution from the sardonic perspective of a young adult who hasn't yet experienced any of the real horrors the world has to offer. This quickly changes, however, when Cherry is sent off to war and experiences terrifying combat, losing friends and seeing awful things in the process. The Russos seem to be in their element here, effectively staging some extremely gory and violent scenes that are juxtaposed with Cherry's heartbreaking responses.

When Cherry finally returns to his Cleveland, Ohio home with Emily, his post-traumatic stress is so bad he can't sleep. Before long he's turning to drugs to numb his pain, soon graduating from pills to heroin. Of course, he and Emily have no money and drugs are expensive, leading Cherry to start robbing banks. In many ways this is the meat of the film. These chapters partially come across as an indictment of the armed services. Veterans Affairs fails to provide Cherry with proper or prompt medical service for his PTSD, and when he finally does get treatment, it pushes him deeper into opioid addiction. Yet, this part of the film also illustrates how circumstances can drive struggling people into a cycle of addiction and crime that feels like it will never end.

RELATED: Spider-Man 3 Reveals Its REAL Title With Video Teaser

The story is wisely bookended by Cherry's time in two institutions -- one starts him down a bad path and the other, the movie suggests, brings him out of it. Meanwhile, Holland, who's in practically every shot, gives a tour de force performance that erases any doubt that he's much more than Peter Parker. The actor has an inherent youth and likeability that gets the audience on his side, and in Cherry this helps viewers stay invested in the story even as his character does awful things. It's an exciting indication of where Holland's career could go even as he returns to the MCU for Spider-Man 3.

Cherry is not for the faint of heart. It's sad and grim and often tough to watch even as the action is spiked with periodic bits of humor. And while its central love story isn't nearly as captivating as the rest of the plot, it's hard to shake the tragedy of Cherry's opioid addiction and what it says about the lost individuals who get caught up in similar situations. Cherry feels like the Russo brothers' anti-MCU film, a very American tale where no heroes are coming to the rescue.

Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, Cherry stars Tom Holland, Ciara Bravo, Jack Reynor, Michael Rispoli, Jeff Wahlberg, Forrest Goodluck, Kyle Harvey and Michael Gandolfini. The film premieres in select theaters on Friday, Feb. 26 and on Apple TV+ on Friday, March 12.

NEXT: Tom Holland's Brother 'Reprises' His Cherry Role in Spider-Man 3