With “Cyrano”, Joe Wright, who became known for his Austen adaptation “Pride and Advantage”, has again taken on a literary film adaptation after a few (less successful) excursions into genre cinema. His new film is an adaptation of a classic verse drama by the French playwright Edouard Rostand, who wrote the original text in the late 19th century. It’s a nod to the writer Cyrano de Bergerac, who became a forerunner of sci-fi literature with novels about voyages to the moon and sun.
The story takes place in France, at the end of the 17th century. The officer Cyrano de Bergerac is very talented – with the sword as well as with the pen. Although he is not very gentle with his opponents in battle and appears self-confident, he also has his weak point: his outward appearance.
Because of his looks, he is convinced that his old friend, the beautiful Roxanne, could never love him back. Just as he is about to open up to her, she confesses that she has fallen in love with the handsome cadet Christian. With Christian stationed in the same regiment, Cyrano agrees to help Christian woo Roxanne by writing letters to her on Christian’s behalf – expressing his own emotions. Cyrano’s situation is further complicated when Roxanne is also being courted by the influential and hostile nobleman De Guiche (Ben Mendelsohn).
Peter Dinklage, one of the faces of the HBO series “Game of Thrones”, is Cyrano, the female part is taken on by Haley Bennett, who already showcased her qualities as a singer and songwriter in “Into the Heart – A Song for You”.
Esthete with self-doubt
The film is based on a play by the author Erica Schmidt, who also wrote the screenplay for the film. Schmidt also happens to be the wife of leading actor Dinklage – but he hadn’t even intended her husband for the role at the beginning of the writing process, as he already made it clear.
Because in Rostand’s verse drama, Cyrano suffers from his oversized nose. A cardboard nose was usually glued on to actors for this purpose. By casting her husband, Schmidt wanted to make the story a universal tale of self-doubt. Anyone who knows Dinklage primarily as the cynical Tyrion Lannister might initially find him a bit strange as a vulnerable esthete.
But the chemistry between the main actors is right and makes the plot, which has naturally fallen out of time, seem believable. Even if the dialogues seem a bit wooden at first, which is also due to the source material, the dialogues pick up speed as the film progresses and are repeatedly loosened up by successful comedic scenes.
The creators of “Cyrano” are not only breaking new ground with the cast of the short Dinklage. The role of Cadet Christian is played by black actor Kelvin Harrison Jr. (“Asassination Nation”, “The Trial of the Chicago 7”), and numerous supporting roles are also cast by non-white actors. “Cyrano” follows the example of the hit Netflix series “Bridgerton”, which is probably the most well-known example of “color-blind casting” in historical films. The diverse cast works much better with “Cyrano”, which could also be due to the fact that the really influential and powerful nobles are played by white actors despite everything.
The highlight of the film should definitely be the musical interludes, because the two main actors in particular are convincing with their vocal organs. In addition, the songs are staged in a cinematically appealing way and captivate with graceful dance interludes. Luckily nothing was translated here, but subtitles make it easier to understand. Overall, the scenes fit harmoniously into the plot without appearing artificial. The film’s music was composed by Aaron and Bryce Dessner, and Matt Berninger wrote the lyrics. So Cyrano is also something of a The National film.
As Schmidt revealed in an interview, it took a lot of convincing to get the musicians excited about the musical idea. However, the collaboration seems to have paid off. “It has been one of the greatest joys of my life to learn from them, to work with them and to exchange ideas,” says Schmidt.