Starring: Peter Dinklage, Haley Bennett, Kelvin Harrison Jr, Ben Mendelsohn, Monica Dolan, Bashir Salahuddin, Ruth Sheen, Mark Benton, Richard McCabe.
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Runtime: 124 mins. Reviewed in Mar 2022
Reviewer: Fr Peter Malone msc
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A musical version of the famous tale of 17th century swordsman and poet, Cyrano de Bergerac – with Peter Dinklage in the lead, a romantic suitor with dwarfism.
Cyrano de Bergerac must be one of the most romantic characters in fiction. Created as a verse play by Edmond Rostand in 1897, his story has been told and retold, with Jose Ferrer winning an Oscar for the 1950 Cyrano de Bergerac, later Gerard Depardieu as Cyrano, and a contemporary version with Steve Martin in Roxanne.
Cyrano is a man of unrequited love – or his love being requited by Roxanne as simple friendship. Cyrano is devoted to Roxanne and finds the outlet for his passion in writing letters for the handsome guard, Christian, even providing his voice in the famous balcony scene where Roxanne is in love with Christian’s soul, his poetry. Which, of course, is the soul of Cyrano.
This present version, directed by Joe Wright (Atonement, Pride and Prejudice, Anna Karenina, Darkest Hour) is a musical. The book was written and staged by Erica Schmidt and she has written the screenplay – this project also a work of love because Peter Dinklage and Erica Schmidt are married in reality.
One of the most famous characteristics of Cyrano de Bergerac was his long nose. However, the film uses Peter Dinklage’s form of dwarfism, to make him distinctive, and sometimes the butt of mocking humour. (Peter Dinklage’s successful film and television career, especially with Game of Thrones making him known worldwide, has become a significant icon for dwarfism, audiences accepting him for his characters rather than focus on his physical condition.)
So, while the film traces the basic tale of Cyrano and his devotion to Roxanne (Haley Bennett who worked with Peter Dinklage in the stage version), her infatuation with the handsome Christian (Kelvin Harrison Jr), the romanticism of the wooing by literate letters, it also shows Cyrano as a master swordsman and, at the end, in vivid war sequence in snowy mountainous terrain leading men to deaths.
The musical aspects of the film, the songs, their dramatisation, the elaborate choreography surrounding many of them, the melodies, may not appeal to all, however, with the power of the story and Peter Dinklage’s performance, these audiences may be won over and, finally, be moved and identify with the characters.
Audiences who do enjoy musicals will be amazed at the lavish sets, from 17th century theatre performance (and mockery) to the military training grounds, the battle in the snow and elaborate choreography.
Much of Cyrano was filmed in Sicily with the atmosphere of life in the 17th century.
There is an interesting supporting cast, led by Ben Mendelsohn as the De Guiche, Monica Dolan as Roxanne’s maid, Marie, and Richard McCabe as the officiating priest.
However, it is the focus on Cyrano himself and Dinklage’s presence and performance that makes this version special. He is not the greatest of singers (perhaps better if we think of him in the tradition of Lee Marvin in Paint Your Wagon or Rex Harrison’s recitative style in My Fair Lady). He is adept with the sword, delivers his romantic lines and aspirations with aplomb, and, at times, especially in the final sequences, the longing in his eyes is extraordinarily moving.
Doubtless there will be other versions of Cyrano de Bergerac but, in its imagination and in the casting of Dinklage and the repercussions of his dwarfism, this is a distinctive version.
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