Review of Cyrano de Bergerac (1990) by Arnaud C — 16 Oct 2008

Jean-Paul Rappeneau's 1990 adaptation of the epic play about a brilliant poet and swordsman whose exceptionally large nose lead him to live his love for his cousin vicariously through a man who is more pleasant on the eye is all kinds of magnificent. The film centres around de Bergerac, played by the utterly amazing Gerard Depardieu. Depardieu wastes nothing in his portrayal of such a messed-up character, his verbal dexterity and sword-based skills only equaled by his inability to tell the woman he loves how he feels. Everything seems completely natural for him, from the electric opening scene (which includes the most brilliant conception of a poem I've born witness to, 'Ballad of a Fencing Bout Between de Bergerac and a Foppish Lout') to his heartbreaking final scenes. Jeremy Irons must have been revolutionary in Reversal of Fortune to beat Depardieu to the Oscar in 1991. Depardieu's supports aren't terrible, either - Anne Bochet, Vincent Perez and Jaques Weber more than hold their own against Depardieu's tour de force of a performance.

Everything else about the film is exactly how an epic should be, also. The battle scenes are sparse, but when they happen, they're enthralling and exciting, particularly the Siege of Arras near the end and Cyrano's aforementioned poetry bout. The dialogue is amazing, lyrical and potent in both its emotional power and humour, and the film is well paced up until about the last couple of minutes or so (and even then, protestations against the multiple endings will soon be forced to the back of your mind by the sheer power of Depardieu delivering that magical final monologue). The cinematography and the art design are both exquisite (de Bergerac running the Spanish line and the opening scene at the theatre being perfect examples), and the music, while a little obvious, lends itself perfectly to the epic feel of the film. Overall, a romantic epic that is more than the sum of its parts, and that says something when the parts are so damn brilliant.