Cyrano (2021) ****

 

I almost gave up on this film in the first few minutes. The acting was not great, the first song wasn't that good, and I figured I should cut my losses. But then Peter Dinklage showed up, and everything was all right. From that point on, he was in every scene, and the movie just got better and better. Even the other actors were better playing off of Dinklage. The film rests on his shoulders, and he is strong enough to carry it.

Most people are at least vaguely familiar with the source material, Edmond Rostand's 1897 play “Cyrano de Bergerac.” Cyrano (Dinklage) is a soldier and poet, renowned for his skill with blades and with words. As talented as he is, he is physically unattractive. In the play, he has a gigantic nose. In this film, he is a dwarf. Either way, his self-consciousness prevents him from revealing his love for a girl named Roxanne (Haley Bennett), preferring to stay safely in the friend-zone. Then Roxanne catches sight of Christian ( Kelvin Harrison, Jr.), a handsome, new soldier in Cyrano's army brigade, and the two immediately fall into mutual infatuation. Roxanne asks her friend Cyrano to arrange an introduction, but Christian is too shy and tongue-tied to talk to her. He winds up having Cyrano write beautiful love letters on his behalf, and the two woo Roxanne, Cyrano with his words and Christian with his looks.

Any way you cut it, “Cyrano de Bergerac” is one of the great stories. Even people who haven't seen the original play are likely familiar with the story. The play has many adaptations, including the outstanding 1987 film “Roxanne.” You could argue that there is not a lot to add to this story, and that making a musical version was a high-risk, low-reward proposition. Fortunately, director Joe Wright managed to put together something wonderful here. (Wright has experience adapting classical literature into film, including 2005's “Pride & Prejudice” and 2012's “Anna Karenina.”) The screenplay is by Erica Schmidt, who is married to Peter Dinklage, and it is based on her own 2018 stage musical, in which Dinklage starred. The score and songs are written by members of the band The National. Many of the songs are forgettable, but a couple stand out, including the villain-anthem “What I Deserve” (sung by Ben Mendelsohn) and the beautiful dirge “Wherever I Fall” (with an appearance by Glen Hansard, from “Once”). I was underwhelmed by Haley Bennett at first, but her performance grows as the movie progresses, and her voice really soars on the song “I Need More.”

Sadly, “Cyrano” was not a commercial success. On a $30 million budget, the film only grossed $6.4 million. I guess it's hard to sell anything these days that doesn't involve superheroes. Then, too, maybe people are getting a bit weary of period dramas. This is one you don't want to miss, however. It is currently streaming on HBOMax, and I highly recommend checking it out. It's a beautiful telling of a classic tale.

4 stars out of 5