Cyrano de Bergerac (1990)
NETFLIX SYNOPSIS: Cyrano de Bergerac (Gerard Depardieu) pines for his cousin Roxanne, but won’t reveal his affections for fear that she’ll find his ugly features off-putting. So, Cyrano instructs the studly but stupid Christian how to woo her. Roxanne is entranced by Christian’s beautiful poetry and letters — all ghosted by Cyrano. But Christian dies in battle before he can tell Roxanne the truth. Depardieu won the Best Actor award at Cannes for his performance.
REVIEW: Snipping a couple inches off the tip of the nose in a nod to realism (I suppose), Depardieu and company have a run at this noble French tale. I can’t tell if it was my own expectations, the questionable translation in the subtitles (by Anthony Burgess, believe it or not!), or some other factor, but the movie failed to engage me during the first 30 minutes or so. Once Christian appeared, the gears began to mesh and the rest of the movie was greatly improved, including an ending that probably surpasses the otherwise-better 1950 version.
4 stars
HAWK
