Edmond

It is a comedy set in the Paris of 1897 when the author of previous unsuccessful drama plays has the opportunity to write in a very short time a comedy about Cyrano de Bergerac (actual historic figure made of soldiery, science, poetry... incarnation of French "panache" a classy and brave way to win and lose, with perpetuatal pride). It is a comedy with the interactions of the author and the comedians, the producers, the audience... the inspiration found in a muse. A vivid comedy, an homage to theatre. Do not expect perfect faithfulness to historical events. To fully appreciate what the pkay Cyrano is you should watch the eponym brilliant 1989 movie CYRANO DE BERGERAC with Gerard DEPARDIEU in what is probably is best part, up to now.

One of the best films we've seen in many years. Excellent casting, well paced, captivating plot, well-structured flow, excellent lighting and processing... the craft and effects are top notch. An overall excellent film in all aspects!

I really was looking forward to seeing this movie and I quite enjoy it, although I had to switch my suspension of disbelief willingly at many different moments. When you know how much research Rostand put into his characters and the era that the play is set in, you can't really believe that it just came to him by accident as he stumbles on a courageous cafe owner, a mask from commedia dell'arte or a cute little theatre helper. The shortcuts to creation make for a movie with a fast pace but that has very little to do with historical reality. Still, Thomas Solivérès is charming and Olivier Gourmet steals every scene he's in, Leeb as Volny is just the right amount of cockiness and Mathilde Seigner is great too! I had a harder time believing in Lucie Boujenah's Jeanne, maybe because the quasi love story feels forced and there's no real chemistry between her and neither of the two men concerned. You can still see the movie for the pleasure of the recreation of the ambiance in a theatre troop preparing for a play that's not even written and is opening in a few weeks... but if you have to choose, you'll do much better with the Cyrano movie with Gerard Depardieu, a real masterpiece.

Paris, 1897. It has been two years since the young Edmond Rostand, poet and playwright, has run out of inspiration. One day, on a whim, he offers a role to the great actor Coquelin aîné, that of Cyrano de Bergerac. The trouble is that Edmond hasn't written the beginning of a line. But a promise is a promise and, inspired by what happens in his surroundings, and carried by his gift for poetic language, he gradually produces lines in which no one believes but which will prove to be the framework of an immortal masterpiece.

The initial idea, to make Edmond Rostand the hero of a play and then of its filmed adaptation, is simply wonderful. Because, if his "Cyrano de Bergerac" was staged and filmed more than often, there had been little interest in his person on the screen before this particular movie. You can see the writer as himself in Sacha Guitry's documentary, "Ceux de chez nous" (1915), as part of a gallery of great artists and writers, and that's all. He could be imagined a little stiff and pompous, which is most unlikely if you consider his linguistic agility, Alexis Michalik does not see him like that anyway : the Rostand he shows us is young, full of life but shy, inspired but overwhelmed by events. Please do not take the film literally but what it actualy is, never claiming to be historical, it is rather a fantasy full of spirit and vivacity around the figure of Edmond Rostand. And even if what happens in it is not an exact reflection of reality, "Edmond" happily explores the field of inspiration, of the gestation of a work, of the influence of the immediate environment on its content at the time of its making. It would be a mistake to be picky about such intelligent and well-paced entertainment, interpreted with contagious glee by a homogeneous troupe. As a tribute, both humorous and sensitive, to a great creator, to theater, to entertainment and to love, "Edmond" is irresistible.

Some of the best, most innovative and some of worst, most narcissistic film (lr play) has been "play within a play" premise. I understand the writer of Edmond was attempting to copy the idea of "Shakespeare in Love."

Ultimately though the result is not engaging, or coherent. The premise is good, the result is not. Th dialogue is nowhere near as engaging as Rostand's own work. And the structure and direction don't reflect any talent. I

The cinematography and costumes are good. The actors are not without talent. But it just doesn't work