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Cherry Tree

Name: Cherry Tree
Director: David Keating
Released: 2015
Duration: 85 min

Representation Score

5.1/10

Fair

2015

Not Rated

Director

David Keating

Runtime

85 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

Cherry Tree succeeds in challenging traditional gender roles and expectations. By placing the survival of the family unit in the hands of female protagonists, it moves away from the traditional 'protector' role often assigned to men. The use of supernatural elements allows for a departure from conventional religious morality, offering a more subjective, occultist ethical framework. However, the film's impact is limited by a lack of breadth in other areas. The narrative remains largely homogeneous, offering little in the way of racial or characters who reflect more than one aspect of diversity. The absence of explicit LGBTQ+ identity markers also prevents a more progressive score in that category. Ultimately, the film is a study of shifting power dynamics. It moves away from the stability of the nuclear family to explore complex, non-traditional archetypes of motherhood and leadership.

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Category Breakdown

Does Cherry Tree have LGBTQ+ representation?

Fair

The film explores a complex emotional bond between Faith and Sissy Young. While it doesn't include explicit same-sex romance or non-cisgender identities, Sissy's presence challenges traditional family structures.

How does Cherry Tree portray gender?

Good

The narrative disrupts conventional hierarchies by centering women's ability to drive the story. The father's terminal illness shifts the burden of survival to the women, while Sissy Young embodies a powerful, non-traditional feminine archetype as a coven leader.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Cherry Tree?

Limited

The film appears to lack significant racial diversity. The setting and character dynamics suggest a homogeneous social environment that does not explicitly engage with multi-ethnic or non-Anglo-Saxon casting.

How does Cherry Tree represent religion and culture?

Good

By centering an occultist coven, the film challenges traditional religious morality. It deconstructs the idealized Western concept of maternal sanctity by presenting the mother figure as a potentially predatory or complex entity.

Does Cherry Tree include disability representation?

Minimal

The film does not focus on disability ability to act. While the father's terminal illness serves as a narrative catalyst, there is no significant evidence of visible or invisible disability representation.

Present on Screen

Effective challenge of traditional gender hierarchies and the 'protector' cliché.
Strong exploration of non-traditional feminine archetypes and women's ability to drive the story.
Challenging of conventional religious morality through occultist themes.

Limited or Absent

Lack of significant racial and multi-ethnic representation.
Absence of explicit LGBTQ+ identity markers or romantic depictions.
Minimal engagement with disability ability to act or diverse lived experiences.

Official Synopsis

Faith’s world is turned upside down after she finds out that her beloved father is dying. When the mysteriously alluring Sissy Young becomes her field hockey coach, Faith finds a compassionate spirit and much-needed mother figure. Little does she know that Sissy is the head of a centuries-old witches’ coven that uses the fruit of an ancient cherry tree in a secret ritual that restores life to the dead and dying. Offering to cure her father in exchange for a child, Sissy strikes a bargain with Faith, who suddenly finds herself pregnant with a baby that’s growing at an alarming rate. But with the clock to the child’s birth ticking down and the true intention of Sissy’s plans for humanity becoming more apparent, Faith and her father must stand together in order to save both their lives.

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