Instead of remembering 2021 as the 2nd year of the pandemic, I’m going to remember it as the year of the movie musical. In previous years making a movie musical pretty much guaranteed you a nomination in the Golden Globes Best Picture Musical/Comedy category, if nothing else all award season, that was not the case this year. There were just too many, director Joe Wright and screenwriter Erica Schmidt’s Cyrano being the final entry, adapted from Schmidt’s stage musical of the same name. Cyrano is, of course, based on the play Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand.
Even people casually aware of theatre know that in the original story, a big nose is one of the things that makes Cyrano believe he is unworthy of pursuing his love for Roxanne. This adaptation forgoes the facial prosthetic common in productions. Peter Dinklage encompasses the role of Cyrano in this production, who makes short work cutting down anyone who insults his height. But when it comes to Roxanne (played by Haley Bennett), he can’t express what he feels for her unless he uses a mouthpiece in the form of Christian (played by Kelvin Harrison Jr.), too afraid she will reject him. The way he emotes longing cuts right to the heart.
There are two famous balcony scenes in theatre, Romeo and Juliet and Cyrano de Bergerac. You know they are coming when you watch any adaptation of their work, even musical ones like West Side Story and Cyrano. This adaptation added a nuance to the scene in a way I hadn’t seen before. The pacing and the way Haley Bennett played her lines made it like cat and mouse, like deep down she suspected it was really Cyrano she was talking to but needed him to admit it. Except he doesn’t.
I loved the set design in this film, particularly for the theatre scene at the beginning. I loved that the box seats were literally built onto the stage. In theatre, box seats are usually obstructed view. They have been and are desirable for only two reasons:
1) They are private and separate from everybody else.
2) To be seen.
By placing the box on the stage, with Roxanne in one, so much is established visually. She is to be looked at and admired, but untouchable (boxed off). It establishes her as the unattainable figure Cyrano views her as.
There was some wonderful fight choreography, particularly when Cyrano gets attacked on the street at night done by torchlight. That paired with the principal photography being done in Sicily really helped ground the film in its time and location.
The songs flow naturally within the rhythm of the piece, though I didn’t find any to be earworms. There was one song, that I loved above the rest, and it didn’t involve any of the leads. When the guards are about to be sent out on what is likely a suicide mission there is a collection of last letters to loved ones, and three guards (played by Glen Hansard, Sam Amidon, and Scott Folan) sing their final goodbyes. This song would’ve been the easy production cut (for time or money) as it doesn’t involve any of the leads, and it’s not advancing the plot. However, this song was the best display of the film’s themes about love, connection, and the weight of words. By blocking it so that the master for the next scene was tied to the song, Joe Wright ensured its inclusion in the film.
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