Movie: Cyrano (2021)

This movie was a pleasant surprise! Cyrano is a retelling of the classic tale, but instead of an odd nose, Cyrano is not of “normal” stature. I had no idea that I’d be watching a musical. I almost gave up at the beginning, but I’m happy I gave it some more time, because what started off a little silly grew into something quite fulfilling.

Peter Dinklage knows how to pull your heartstrings and he brings his acting, action and singing skillsets in full for this performance. The other actors brought their A-game to flush out this story. I was so happy when I recognized the face and voice of Glen Hansard (I first learned about him from the movie Once) in the Wherever I Fall sequence, which also features two other musicians, Sam Amidan and Scott Folan, performing that amazing song. I haven’t mentioned yet that the music and lyrics are great and worth listening to separate from the film (Soundtrack available on Hoopla!).
The personal styling and sets are done beautifully and draw you into the story. This film won the 2022 Best Decor/Design of a Comedy or Musical Feature Film at the Set Decorators Society of America awards and the Excellence in Period Film award from Costume Designers Guild Awards. I loved the dance sequences that flow seamlessly between and behind the dialogue and action.
Cyrano the film is based on a stage play and the screen adaptation was done by Erica Schmidt, Peter Dinklage’s wife. It was directed by Joe Wright who also directed another one of my favorite movies, Pride & Prejudice, starring Kiera Knightley.
I found the story Cyrano to be charming, moving, heartbreaking and the production to be visually aurally rich. This would make one half of a perfect double-feature with the movie Once.
I watched this movie on Amazon Prime.