The legendary 1897 play "Cyrano de Bergerac" by celebrated French playwright Edmond Rostand has been immortalized on stage and on-screen several times with 1951's Oscar-winning adaptation of the same name even winning Jose Ferrer the Oscar Award for Best Actor. The story and the characters are such a part of pop culture that we still refer to a person paid to write someone's online dating profile to make their search for a partner more successful, a "Cyrano".
In the film, director Joe Wright deftly uses Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor Peter Dinklage's dwarfism in place of the original play's portrayal of Cyrano as a talented poet and soldier who suffered from a debilitating inferiority complex over what he perceived as an abnormally large nose. The plot then follows how Cyrano has always been in love with Roxanne, a girl from his village, but can never confess his affections to her, for fear of being rejected. How he ends up befriending Christian, a young soldier who is also smitten by Roxanne and helps her woo her with his writing and wit form the rest of this age-old narrative.
To imbue fresh energy and ideas to a done-to-death plotline requires particular guile and thankfully, the wily auteur behind Atonement (2007) and the Oscar-winning Darkest Hour (2017) had many aces up his sleeve. Peter Dinklage is an absolute revelation as the tragic Cyrano, combining his famous rapier wit we saw in Game of Thrones with a more morose and sombre demeanour and an exquisitely deep singing voice to render soul and gravitas to each sequence. The music by Aaron & Bryce Dessner is soul-stirring and packs emotion with "Heaven is where I fall" the standout song, one that will bring a lump to the throat of even the most emotionally uptight viewer.
However, there are some chinks in the armour with the performance from Haley Benette ("Roxanne") coming off as petulant and childish instead of charming and elegant as we know the legendary character to be written as. Kelvin Harrison Junior is also a disappointment as "Christian", clearly out of sorts with the weight of responsibility the director gave such a young and relatively inexperienced actor to handle.
Nevertheless, Dinklage's one-man emotional catharsis is a story that deserves a viewing, especially if you are someone who he took through the wringer as "Tyrion Lannister' in Game of Thrones. Dinklage made us first hate him, then pity his plight and finally root for him in the iconic HBO series and in Cyrano, he takes us through another gut-wrenching emotional journey.
Recommended!
In the film, director Joe Wright deftly uses Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor Peter Dinklage's dwarfism in place of the original play's portrayal of Cyrano as a talented poet and soldier who suffered from a debilitating inferiority complex over what he perceived as an abnormally large nose. The plot then follows how Cyrano has always been in love with Roxanne, a girl from his village, but can never confess his affections to her, for fear of being rejected. How he ends up befriending Christian, a young soldier who is also smitten by Roxanne and helps her woo her with his writing and wit form the rest of this age-old narrative.
To imbue fresh energy and ideas to a done-to-death plotline requires particular guile and thankfully, the wily auteur behind Atonement (2007) and the Oscar-winning Darkest Hour (2017) had many aces up his sleeve. Peter Dinklage is an absolute revelation as the tragic Cyrano, combining his famous rapier wit we saw in Game of Thrones with a more morose and sombre demeanour and an exquisitely deep singing voice to render soul and gravitas to each sequence. The music by Aaron & Bryce Dessner is soul-stirring and packs emotion with "Heaven is where I fall" the standout song, one that will bring a lump to the throat of even the most emotionally uptight viewer.
However, there are some chinks in the armour with the performance from Haley Benette ("Roxanne") coming off as petulant and childish instead of charming and elegant as we know the legendary character to be written as. Kelvin Harrison Junior is also a disappointment as "Christian", clearly out of sorts with the weight of responsibility the director gave such a young and relatively inexperienced actor to handle.
Nevertheless, Dinklage's one-man emotional catharsis is a story that deserves a viewing, especially if you are someone who he took through the wringer as "Tyrion Lannister' in Game of Thrones. Dinklage made us first hate him, then pity his plight and finally root for him in the iconic HBO series and in Cyrano, he takes us through another gut-wrenching emotional journey.
Recommended!