Cyrano (2021)

[Drunk Monk]

Cyrano

Okay now I didn’t realize this was a musical until they started singing and I was like wth? It’s based on a stage musical and has such trappings and theater-to-film musicals do. Beautiful costumes, filmed in Sicily so beautiful settings, some dance choreo too.

Instead of a nose, it’s Dinklage’s dwarfism. That sorta works although it doesn’t lend itself to the kind of comic pratfalls that a big nose does.

Dinklage has a magnificent speaking voice but doesn’t really sing. He’s more of a talk singer. That almost works. Roxanne (Haley Bennett) was a superb voice and is a revelation here. The rest of the cast have middling voices except for some random soldiers singing about send their final letters before going on a suicide mission - that scene was quite moving.

It has its moments. The baker’s song and background dance was cool. Something wasn’t clicking which makes me withhold too much praise. Once I got past Dinklage singing, he delivers a fine performance. 

There are two swordfights - one comes up quickly where Cyrano is challenged by a fop in a theater then another soon after where Cyrano is ambushed by 10 hooligans. Both are ok - Dinklage pulls off the swordplay ok for his stature. The second swordfight is almost a one-er.  Needed more sword fights in the middle and end. 

In the end, I enjoyed this. I would’ve enjoyed it more had I remembered this was a musical because it took me a bit to settle into it as a musical. Some of the dialog aspired to Shakespearean precision and tempo - that sharpness comes from the theatricality of the stage musical, I imagine.

I’m on the fence about a D00M rec. Bollywood has wrecked me when it comes to musicals. This doesn’t level up to that. It is always interesting to see Hollywood attempt movie musicals although they tend to fall short in comparison. If you’re a fan of Dinklage or Bennet, or love Sicilian architecture, I’d say go for it.

[Greg]

I saw this on Amazon Prime last night after we watched the end of The Peripheral. If its weren't so late we would have watched it then. I was aware it was a musical as I saw Dinklage pushing it on the talk show circuit.

[Greg]

Completely forgot about this until we were looking for something to watch and decided to give Cyrano a go.

I enjoyed this movie. I think Dinklage is better singer than DM gives Dinklage credit for. The problem I had with Haley Bennett was she looks just like Mrs. Scapino. But she has a great voice. I was very amused the Busby Berkeley Dance numbers, especially with all the guards.

I spent a lot of time comparing this to Steve Martin's Roxanne and to the Cyrano De Bergerac movie with Jose Ferrer. The opening sequence in the playhouse tracks really well with Ferrer's version the only quibble was that Cyrano was going to create a poem while he fenced but no mention was made of that in the musical despite all of Dinklage's lines rhyming. In the Steve Martin version it was the 20 insults scene.

In the end, it was very sad which I did not anticipate. It was to fun to have a Skrull as the Duke.