Cyrano
Directed by Joe Wright
Screenplay by Erica Schmidt
Based on Cyrano by Erica Schmidt, Aaron Dessner, Bryce Dessner, Matt Berninger, Carin Besser
Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand
Produced by Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Guy Heeley
Starring
Peter Dinklage as Cyrano de Bergerac
Haley Bennett as Roxanne
Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Christian de Neuvillette
Ben Mendelsohn as De Guiche
Monica Dolan as Marie, Roxanne’s attendant
Bashir Salahuddin as Le Bret[4]
Joshua James as Valvert
Anjana Vasan as Sister Claire
Ruth Sheen as Mother Marthe
Glen Hansard, Sam Amidon, and Scott Folan appear as a singing trio of guards, credited respectively as guard #1, guard #2, and guard #3.
Mark Benton as Montfleury
Richard McCabe as Priest
Peter Wight as Ragueneau
Tim McMullan as Jodelet
Mark Bagnall as stranger
Mike Shepherd as Marquis
Paul Biddiss as the gate keeper
Katy Owen as the thief
Music by Aaron Dessner & Bryce Dessner
Production companies Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Bron Creative, Working Title Films
Distributed by United Artists Releasing (United States), Universal Pictures (international)
When I saw that Peter Dinklage would be playing Cyrano de Bergerac, I had to ponder that one for a moment. Cyrano was a swashbuckling swordsman and libertine whose most prominent physical feature was his nose, which in the only contemporary drawing of the real person, resembled something from the antisemitic propaganda of 1930s Germany. Later depictions had him looking like Bob Hope on steroids. If he looked up, you could determine the snow level.
I once saw the 1990 film Cyrano with Gérard Depardieu, Anne Brochet and Vincent Perez. Depardieu obviously was the title character, and needed little in the way of stage putty in make up.
But the role that propelled Dinklage to superstardom and made Game of Thrones one of the most popular shows in video history was that of Tyrion Lannister. If Dinklage could pull that role off (and he certainly did) than he could do Cyrano. Assuming, of course, that the writers, producers and directors weren’t jackasses and tried to make a half-assed comedy of the film. (A few more minutes’ thought and I realized that Dinklage would never sign on to such a thing. He’s been in a few movies that were pretty bad, but none that would make mirth of his physical appearance.)
I needn’t have worried. The screenplay (and book upon which the screenplay was based) was by Erica Schmidt, who happens to be Dinklage’s wife. Between the two, Cyrano was given the respect and depth that the tragic and courageous figure deserves.
While the plot of Cyrano is essentially identical to the 1990 film, it is an entirely different animal. It is an extraordinarily well devised balance of comedy, tragedy, and musical. Yes, musical. Like Chicago, the songs actually advance the plot, and much of the singing is done by Dinklage, Bennett (an absolutely glowing Roxane) and Harrison (Christian de Neuvillette). Dinklage is a surprisingly pleasant baritone. Ben Mendelsohn, who plays the evil aristo De Guiche, sounds quite a bit like Nick Cave.
Despite only grossing under $7 million at the box office, this is a superior version of the classic, and cements Dinklage’s standing as a generational actor. There have been at least three other movies about Cyrano, and dozens of plays, and his performance might just be the best.
It was the last movie MGM made before Amazon bought them up, which might account for the extremely truncated screenings it got (along with the pandemic). But now it is on Amazon Prime, and hopefully will get the exposure and recognition that it deserves.