In Hollywood, the holiday season is also the time for musicals. So what does MGM have in store for audiences this Christmas? “Cyrano,” starring Peter Dinklage and directed by Joe Wright, adapted from the same off-Broadway play by Eric Schmidt that had Dinklage in the lead role in late 2019.
Based on the 1897 play “Cyrano de Bergerac,” “Cyrano” is a fictional romantic saga that stems around the historical 17th-century writer and libertine. A notable soldier and renaissance man, a young Cyrano falls in love with the beautiful noblewoman Roxanne. However, Cyrano fears rejection due to his enormous nose (or, in the case of Dinklage, his short stature). Eager to win Roxanne’s heart, Cyrano enlists his friend Christian to impersonate him, but once Christian also falls for Roxanne, a tragedy of errors ensues.
Alongside Dinklage as Cyrano, the film also stars Hayley Bennett as Roxanne, who also reprises her role from the play, and Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Christian. Ben Mendelsohn also stars as De Guiche, a count who also has his eyes on Roxanne, and Bashir Salahuddin also co-stars.
Fresh off the delayed release of “The Woman In The Window,” Joe Wright directs Schmidt’s screenplay based on his play. Wright is no stranger to historical dramas, as he’s done adaptations of “Pride & Prejudice,” “Atonement,” and “Anna Karenina” in the past, as well as his more recent Winston Churchill biopic, 2017’s “Darkest Hour.” Seamus McGarvey, director of photography on “Atonement” and “Anna Karenina,” returns as cinematographer.
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Also of note for the upcoming film: “Cyrano” features music written by members of The National alongside original songs from Schmidt’s play. How will “Cyrano” translate to the big screen? Well, the film already had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival to mixed reviews (including ours). Still, Wright has such a flair for the operatic and musicals; it’s easy to believe you’ve got to at least witness it on the big screen yourself before pre-judging. Until then, “Cyrano” hits theaters everywhere on December 31, from United Artists and MGM. Check out the first trailer below.