Cyrano de Bergerac is one of movie history’s most beloved protagonists, portrayed countless times including the Oscar-winning performance by José Ferrer, an Oscar-nominated performance from Gérard Depardieu, and Steve Martin in the charming, contemporary retelling Roxanne. Joe Wright’s Cyrano is a new spin on the old classic. For one, it is an adaptation of a stage musical version which adds songs to the already verse-heavy play from Edmond Rostand (originally written in 1987). Perhaps more apparent is the casting of Peter Dinklage as Cyrano, turning him from a man with a comically long nose to a dwarf, exchanging one social prejudice for another. The choice is an inspired one, and one that reinforces the fact that Dinklage is an exceptional actor. It isn’t enough to change how utterly forgettable the film is.

Wright, a filmmaker with a hefty amount of (to use a Cyrano-ism) panache, has been adrift at sea for quite some time now. Since his masterpiece adaptation of Pride & Prejudice in 2005, he has scuttled around in various epics of various quality. Atonement and Darkest Hour were both prestige hits that lacked resonance outside of Wright’s overwrought style, and everything else in that same seventeen-year period has been disastrous. Cyrano includes Wright’s usual crutches: long shots, melodrama, an embarrassing taste for busy set pieces that do little to aid the story or its themes. I can’t really explain why this template, used so perfectly in Pride & Prejudice has misstepped so spectacularly in every one of his films since, but in Cyrano, it can be as simple as saying that it simply does not work as a movie musical.

The songs, earnest and maudlin, don’t always match Wright’s stirring visual scope, and none of the actors are on the same page on what style of singing should be performed. As the legendary beauty, Roxanne, Haley Bennett is the only person doing a classical singing style, while Dinklage resorts to a talk-singing arrangement that probably supports his limited range. As the dashing but dim Christian, Kelvin Harrison Jr. sings in contemporary pop melodies, while Ben Mendelsohn – as the key villain, Duke De Guiche – lays so heavy on camp, like Jeremy Irons in Lion King without any sense of the sinister danger. Cyrano also suffers from the play’s antiquated narrative techniques, but it’s ultimately Wright’s folly that he can’t find a way to contextualize this legendary play without shielding its preposterousness.

Dinklage has earned his reputation and he gets through Cyrano without taking any damage against it. The role of Cyrano de Bergerac is one that tests an actor’s emotional range and talent for wit, which is something Dinklage will always excel in. Wright turns the part into a physical showcase as well, showing Dinklage take on numerous men with a sword in a way that’s quite convincing. Unfortunately, the rest of the movie does not meet this standard, and with Wright focusing so much on complex choreography (both with the performers and with the camera), there seems to be almost no focus on the characters and making their connections with one another compelling in any way. The result is an astonishingly forgettable film, burying a truly wonderful lead performance.

 

Directed by Joe Wright