I hesitated and delayed and just kept passing up the opportunity to check this flick out. I know the story and I like Peter Dinklage but something about a musical version was turning me off. Then it came out on streaming for a $20 rental which is a big ask when you have a free ticket via AMC Stubs A-List. But I just finally gave in and checked it out the theater. And glad I did. Even if the sound was turned waaay down and I had to grump to the manager to fix it (she did).

I know the basics of Cyrano but I’ve never read the original and the only actual adaptation I’ve seen was Roxanne (not counting sitcoms that borrowed the idea… lookin’ at you, Brady Bunch). But I knew the basics… guy with big nose is secretly in love but she only has eyes for the handsome guard. The guard is not witty and cannot write poetry so he asks Cyrano to write her letters on his behalf.

And this is (probably) a faithful adaptation only now with songs and with Peter Dinklage so the character’s physical limitation is stature, not nose length. It’s both brilliant casting and smart alteration to the source material. Dinklage is such a good actor and this gives him the chance to buckle all the swashes and declare the moon and the stars with the best poets. And maybe it’s a bit more understandable, sadly, that a man short in stature would be friend-zoned this badly. Then again, if he had Carl Malden’s nose, maybe that’d make sense too.

The film itself is gorgeous and beautiful. It just looks solid, well short, gorgeous. And it’s totally 100% earnest in its protestations of love… no sly asides or eyes rolled. If you want some swooning and swoon-worthy dialog (and lyrics), this is your movie.

It wasn’t the most amazing movie for a lot of its runtime. Really good but sometimes the music would get in the way (and sometimes it’d be great with some cool dance numbers to boot). But there’s a sequence prior to a battle that was beautiful. Just gorgeous to look at, gorgeous to listen to, so well acted. Set to a tune called Wherever I Fall that starts with letters to home from random soldiers that are sad and amazing and yet have nothing to do with the main characters. But it segues to two of our leads and remains beautiful and incredibly well acted. It’s an amazing sequence and greatly improves the movie all on its own.

I really dug this adaptation. Peter Dinklage proves once again that he’s a great actor and deserves more work. This was a smart change to the story that gave him the opportunity to have another starring role. I think anyone with a romantic heart, someone who doesn’t need cynicism, will dig this flick.

Score: 92