Cyrano (2021)

Oh goody! Another musical (I'm sincere)! We both loved this retelling of the 125 year old play about a writer too self-conscious to woo his love and allows another man to use his words. The casting of the brilliant actor Peter Dinklage, who is 4'5" tall, as Cyrano de Bergerac was an inspired move. Haley Bennett is wonderful as Roxanne as is Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Christian. I particularly appreciated the cinematic staging and the visuals. The dancing and singing are superb, including one song by a trio of guards that includes Glen Hansard, creator of the musical Once. Shout out to Ben Mendelsohn for his Captain Hook-like portrayal of the evil De Guiche.

Joe Wright's fine direction is aided by Erica Schmidt's screenplay. She wrote and directed the 2018 Off-Broadway musical on which this movie is based. It also starred Dinklage, who happens to be her husband of almost 17 years now.

The music is by Aaron Dessner and Bryce Dessner, who are members of the band The National. The soundtrack, including vocals and instrumentals, can be streamed on Apple Music and elsewhere.

There have been dozens of versions of this story, and in most of them, Cyrano's handicap is a big nose. Dinklage said on Marc Maron's podcast in January, “My size is not a substitute for lack of a nose” but it draws upon insecurity. He also made mention of the “M word.”

The costumes by Massimo Cantini Parrini and Jacqueline Durran were nominated not just for an Oscar but also by their peers in the Costume Designers Guild. The cinematography by Seamus McGarvey should've gotten a nod as well.

Dinklage was last blogged for I Care a Lot, Harrison for JT LeRoy, Mendelsohn for The Land of Steady Habits, Wright for Darkest Hour, the Dessners for C'mon C'mon, Durran for Spencer, and McGarvey for The Greatest Showman. Parrini is new to me.

Jack and I had no idea it was a musical until it began, just that it was nominated for several awards (I keep track here––it won AARP's Best Love Story for Grownups) and well reviewed on Rotten Tomatoes (85% critics and 86 audiences).

We rented it on Apple TV March 19.