No nose, more problems? In Cyrano, the new film based on the stage musical by Erica Schmidt, the titular outcast Cyrano de Bergerac doesn’t have his famously large nose. Instead, he’s played by Emmy Award winner Peter Dinklage, who has a form of dwarfism called achondroplasia, at his most dashing and heroic, spinning swords and swinging onto stages. As those familiar with the Netflix YA romance The Half of It (or the original by Edmond Rostand) know, Cyrano quietly pines for his old friend Roxanne (Haley Bennett), going so far for her happiness that he helps a new guy, Christian (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) serenade her with poetry. But this time they sing! Cyrano has music by Bryce and Aaron Dessner of the National and it’s bound to have a hold on The Greatest Showman fans among us. Haley Bennett gazing out of an open carriage window as she sings about love? Kelvin Harrison Jr. in Duke of Hastings cosplay? Peter Dinklage’s vegan puppy-dog eyes filled with warring emotions? Hollywood is getting too good at reimagining stories we’ve already reimagined. Directed by Joe Wright and co-starring Ben Mendelsohn, Cyrano arrives in theaters December 31.
