Cyrano

Joe Wright directs this screen adaptation of Erica Schmidt’s musical version of the Cyrano de Begerac story. Cyrano (Peter Dinklage) is a soldier with an artistic heart, a poet and a wit, but is also self conscious of his diminutive stature. Roxanne (Hayley Bennett) is his secret love, a long time friend, smart, articulate and wanting to be wooed. One night she sees at the theatre Christian (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) a young soldier about to join Cyrano’s unit and she falls for him. But Christian lacks the poetic heart to woo her. Together Cyrano and Christian give each other what they lack, Cyrano gets his looks, Christian his voice. But as always the road to love is never easy, especially at a time of war, and is filled with jealousy and heartbreak.

There are certainly things to enjoy in this musical adaptation of the well known story, but sadly not everything worked for me as much as I wished it had.

On the plus side there are lots of beautifully judged performances and the three leads particularly bring lots of charm to the screen. Dinklage full of wit and charisma and Bennett brings effortless charm to Roxanne.

Visually it is gorgeous to look at from the packed theatre to the desolation of the battlefield. And the use of dance is inspired often bringing a real beauty to scenes.

Sadly not everything works as well. The musical numbers are a little hit and miss, and pacing felt a problem throughout.

That said the film finishes on a high with a beautifully moving final act from the battlefields to a heart wrenching moment between Cyrano and Roxanne.

But overall it was a little uneven, at its best it is beautiful, moving and funny. But it doesn’t sustain that throughout and ultimately falls a little flat overall.

I did want to enjoy Cyrano more than I did. There are moments to enjoy and the three leads are each enjoyable. At its best it is wonderful, but unfortunately it’s not at its best often enough.