Peter Dinklage plays a lovesick Cyrano in this retelling of Edmond Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac. The title character is in love with his long-time friend Roxanne (Hayley Bennett), who has unfortunately fallen for a soldier named Christian (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) who cannot express his love. Christian turns to Cyrano to help whoo Roxanne through love letters. Of course, the letters are immaculate due to Cyrano’s undying love that is begging to be expressed. Yup, nothing could go wrong here. Nothing at all.
Director Joe Wright has brought a fresh take to an old classic. There are a few slight changes, one of which is Cyrano’s self-doubt is fueled by his short stature instead of a large nose.
I love musicals with all my heart, but in this case, Cyrano would have been better off without the song and dance. The sequences are stunning and well-choreographed, but some of the songs felt out of place and irrelevant. Unfortunately, Cyrano also suffers from awful sound mixing. There is a gorgeous score that I wish would have been heard throughout but is barely used. I felt like Cyrano never fully leaned into the musical theatrics. It was missing the drama that movie musicals are known for.
Overall, Cyrano is a lovely rendition that honors the original source material. While this film is told through the lens of someone well known for telling romantic tragedies, it loses its impact on the key thing it markets itself as. Cyrano may be a beautifully shot movie, but unfortunately, it fails when it comes to being a musical.
Review: Cyrano
Score
Review Nation Score
Cyrano is a lovely rendition that honors the original source material. While this film is told through the lens of someone well known for telling romantic tragedies, it loses its impact on the key thing it markets itself as. Cyrano may be a beautifully shot movie, but unfortunately, it fails when it comes to being a musical.