Cyrano

Cyrano (Joe Wright, 2021) Peter Dinklage, Haley Bennett, Kelvin Harrison

I don't know what Joe Wright was on when he thought of retelling the Cyrano story as a musical starring a midget, but it must be strong stuff. Rostand's original Cyrano de Bergerac, whose story has been redone in a couple of dozen films, had a big nose. Peter Dinklage's is not inconsiderable, but there are other characteristics that are more noticeable. Like his age, for example. He was born in 1969 (he's over 50) and here is supposedly being rapturously in love with Roxanne as played by Haley Bennett, who was born in 1988 (in her 30s). He's too old. (And maybe a bit too short, @ 4'4" - that's 1.32m, if you must.)

So there's that, the casting. And then there's that it's a musical. As one critic said, this might have been a reasonably good film without the music. I second that. It's the kind of sub-elevator music that you forget immediately after having heard it. It has no character at all. It disappears without trace before your amazed ears.

And then there's the script ...

Garry Gillard | reviews | New: 28 February, 2022 | Now: 2 March, 2022