Cyrano

Watching Peter Dinklage in this performance is like walking into a decent play and he captivates me to make me stay longer til the end. Seeing his talents and personal struggles is just a treat to watch. So I say if Dinklage gets nominated I hope he wins making history as the first dwarf to win an Oscar. Technically he'll be the second dwarf actor to be nominated for an Oscar since Michael Dunn of Ship of Fools (1965) but let's hope the academy actually chooses well but I won't hold my breath bc the academy has a tendency to miss great performances or choose the wrong winners. Let's hope I say and praise Dinklage for his performance.

Seems like the writers had never read the play. Felt like they missed the soul of the source material. Actors were beautifully cast but the dialogue and lyrics felt clunky and misguided. Felt like a love story when it absolutely is a story about failed truth. Joe Wright had done a beautiful job as always but again overall it feels like the point is missed. Still an enjoyable watch but the musical bits felt jarring and out of nowhere. Captured none of the humor and cavalier attitude. De Guiche also came across as very r*pey which felt very odd and uncomfortable since it was not in any other the other adaption.

This is a romance that hits you in the head and heart- not the loins.

So many movie makers today feel the need to include graphic or seductive sex scenes which often diminishes any real romance. The writer, directors, actors, and everyone involved in this production have created something that demonstrates real love- not lust.

This story is about connection and conviction. We don't need to see the characters bumping and grinding to feel the strength of their feelings. Words are so much more powerful and lasting.

Peter Dinklage is amazing as the intelligent and sensitive Cyrano. A man who feels he does not have enough to give but really has so much more than anyone else. Cyrano loves Roxanne deeply and only wants what is best for her so he makes sacrifices for her.

Not many movies can make me tear up anymore but this one did. I saw it on a plane returning from Europe and the flight attendant asked if I was OK because I was crying. I get depressed sometimes when I see all the crap going on in the world- selfishness, inconsideration, greed- things that seem so thoughtless and evil. This film helped renew hope in me that there are still people out there who understand what is important in life.

Cudos to everyone involved in making this movie. Superb acting, beautiful vocals, excellent timing, inspired direction, moving writing, and editing that brought it all together wonderfully.

I will be disappointed if this doesn't win many awards.

Cheers, Amy.

Beautifully filmed period piece and retelling of the classic play with some changes. Dinkledge gives a heart-wrenching performance as Cyrano (obviously his stature is substituted for the big nose), supported by a mostly decent cast. Lots of reviews here bemoan the musical aspect of the film and I will agree I didn't expect it to be one. However, I thought the music and lyrics were fantastic, with such raw emotion pouring out (I dare anyone not to get a lump in their throat at the soldiers singing their farewell letters song). I give this film a 8/10 for its music, risk taking and emotional gravitas.

Rostand's play is a durable one, even if it does seem implausible.... but in drawing the character of Cyrano de Bergerac, was accurate. De Bergerac was a French officer with an enormous nose, who wrote excellent poetry, dramas, and even a novel about a trip to the moon. I don't know how accurate the story of his duelling ten people in one night was, but no one ever called him a liar on it while he lived.

In casting Peter Dinklage as Cyrano -- without the nose -- director Joe Wright has expanded the character's touchy honor to all the physical slurs people undergo; that's not a bad idea. Dinklage is a problematic choice, given that someone his size would not have been enlisted in the French Army in this period. Once, however, you accept this, his expressive features reveal everything about the character. Haley Bennett as Roxanne is enchanting, and Kelvin Harrison Jr. As Christian is a kindly if slow-witted young fellow: a perfect tenor for Grand Opera.

I'm not fond of the music for the songs, which seem to be largely recitative, and only one song had first-class lyrics: "Where I Fall". Nonetheless, Wright and his cameraman, Seamus McGarvey, understand that the songs in a musical are about what's going on inside the performers' heads, and use a highly mobile camera to obliterate the space. In between those, they find a lot of beautiful scenes to shoot, looking like ancien regime paintings. It's not the best take I've seen; that would be the one with Gérard Depardieu. But this is a very good one too.