Cyrano is a sweeping and sentimental musical
The 19th film adaptation of French play Cyrano de Bergerac brings with it to cinemas an advantage. This new version, directed by Joe Wright (Darkest Hour, Atonement), is based on the well-received 2019 Broadway musical by Erica Schmidt. She serves as screenwriter here, while the production’s lead Peter Dinklage is also on board.
The Game of Thrones fan favourite plays Cyrano, a French soldier who moonlights as a talented poet. He is in love with Roxanne (Haley Bennett), a beautiful noblewoman from his home town. Ashamed of his social status and diminutive stature, Cyrano can never profess his love. However, when Roxanne falls for Christian (Kelvin Harrison Jr), a handsome but inarticulate military comrade, Cyrano decides to help him by providing his words to help woo her.
Filled with comedy and romantic vigour, the film makes the most of Joe Wright’s unique visual flair. The director embraces every corner of the screen, making the theatrical sets come alive with bright colours and songs of longing. It’s unashamedly sentimental, breaking the viewer’s heart with a gut punch third act.
The song Wherever I Fall, sung by soldiers on the front line to their loved ones, is the film’s undisputed highlight. Harrison (The Luce, Trial of The Chicago Seven) is an actor who seems to improve with every role and he’s on fine form as Christian, a man clearly driven by infatuation and enthusiasm. More than a prize to be won, Bennett adds layers to Roxanne, demanding a love that fulfils her spiritually, even if she overlooks the perfect match in front of her.
Ben Mendelsohn plays the villain as the military man who tries to bully his way into Roxanne’s life, and just like every other time he’s played a baddie he is thoroughly enjoyable to watch. None match Dinklage, however, who gives everything of himself. Wright zooms in tight to his expressions, and witnesses his face crack with barely veiled agony when he discovers Roxanne loves someone else. His performance shows the complicated foolishness of love, and the kind of weary tragedy that made him a star almost twenty years ago in breakthrough film The Station Agent.
He might well feel hard done by after being ignored by The Academy, but this at least shows there’s more to come after his Game of Thrones success. There are some flaws amid all the romance. Not every number soars, particularly Cyrano’s introductory rap that aims for Hamilton but has a whiff of karaoke. Also, the age gap between 52- year-old Dinklage and 34-year-old Bennett (who looks younger) is more conspicuous on film that it might have on stage.
Nonetheless, Cyrano is a sweeping and sentimental musical that wraps its darker tones in velvet. Tissues may be required for the emotional finale, the evidence of a star and director working in perfect harmony.