Cyrano is simply sublime
Just when I thought I was done with remakes, Cyrano enters the chat.
Cyrano is for the poets and romantics. For anyone who has ever been in love and watched the person they love love someone else. It is a tale as old as time. Although to be fair, it’s not so much as a remake as it is a re-imagining of the epic love story we have come to know and love. While it is an adaptation of the classic 1897 play Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand, Erica Schmidt wrote the film’s screenplay that was also based from the stage version she adapted in 2019. I’ve long been a fan of Peter Dinklage and this commencement address he gave in Bennington College in 2012 remains one of my favourite ones so far. He talks about his wife Erica briefly in it and how they collaborate on creative projects and it is clear that Cyrano is a love letter on and offscreen.
Traditionally, Cyrano was characterised by a huge fake nose but this film boldly forgo that and instead chooses to shift the narrative by making Cyrano’s main plight be his stubborn inability to see himself as someone worthy of love beyond his stature. This change, while subtle, unlocks so many layers of humanity and makes the film that much more raw and gripping. Who among us haven’t grappled with these feelings within ourselves?
Throughout its two hour runtime, the contrast between dark and light was done so subtly, with the first half of the film really honing in on that treatment. It was towards the end when we see the change to lighter tones on screen, despite the feeling in the pit of my stomach that something tragic was about to happen. I hung on to the hope until the very end, the lightness of the treatment in those scenes giving the audience something to hold on to. I audibly gasped when I saw the nuns costume. Chic and other worldly. It’s the costume and set design that really bring the story to life.
The soundtrack noticeably gets the Hamilton treatment too — there’s a modernity to it thanks to the compositions of Bryce and Aaron Dessner of The National. It is what you’d expect from The National, yet somehow does not feel out of place in Cyrano. Haley Bennett’s defiance and spirit as Roxane is captured perfectly at the start when she sings “I’d give anything for someone to say that they can’t live without me” and by the time Peter Dinklage heartbreakingly pours his heart out in “Madly”, my heart felt like it had just been torn into pieces.
Cyrano proves that even when one is retelling a story, it can still be done in a fresh way visually that leaves you feeling like you’ve only just stumbled upon the tragic love story for the first time. After all, love and all its complexities are universal themes that anyone can relate to. Add fight scenes choreographed in candlelight, songs about unrequited love and longing, and impeccable fashion on top of a brilliant Peter Dinklage finally being able to showcase more of his range as a romantic lead, Cyrano is simply sublime and a worthy cinema escape from reality.
Cyrano is out in cinemas nationwide. Watch the trailer here: