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Joe Wright

Cyrano – Who is worthy of love?

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“I’d give anything for someone to say….”

We long—to be heard, to be seen, to be loved. Such loving is the driving force in Joe Wright’s film Cyrano, a reimagining of Edmund Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac, by way of a musical stage play written and directed by Erica Schmidt, who wrote the screen play. It is the story of people who long to be loved—even though they don’t feel worthy of being loved as they would like to be.

Haley Bennett stars as Roxanne and Peter Dinklage as Cyrano in Joe Wright’s CYRANO A Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures film Photo credit: Peter Mountain © 2021 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The classic version of Cyrano de Bergerac centers on the title character, a guardsman who is known for his skill as a swordsman and for his wit, but is even more renown for the size of his nose. In this version, Cyrano’s nose is not the issue. Instead, he is played by the diminutive Peter Dinklage. It is his size that makes others scorn and ridicule him (but they do so at their peril). This is more than just a gimmick. Dinklage bring a certain reality to the role that actors in fake noses don’t have. We sense that he truly understands Cyrano’s feelings about being different.

Cyrano is in love with Roxanne (Haley Bennett), his friend from their childhood. But he feels that he can only love her from afar, because no one would accept him because he is so different. When Christian (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) arrives in town, he and Roxanne lock eyes and are immediately smitten. Roxanne asks Cyrano to take care of Christian, a task he accepts out of love, but it breaks his heart. When Cyrano encourages Christian to write to Roxanne, Christian balks because he does not have the words or poetry that Roxanne desires. So Cyrano writes the letters for him, and together they win her heart, but it is obviously complicated (and comic).

Haley Bennett stars as Roxanne and Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Christian in Joe Wright’s CYRANO A Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures film Photo credit: Peter Mountain © 2021 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.

There is another rival for Roxanne, Duke De Guiche (Ben Mendelsohn), a foppish, but rich and powerful nobleman. It would not be accurate to say he is courting her. Rather he has decided to possess her. He is the personification of entitlement. De Guiche’s main song is “What I Deserve”.

Those familiar with the original play will know that for all the comic aspects that play out in the romantic triangle of Cyrano, Roxanne, and Christian, the play evolves into a great tragedy of unfulfilled love.

The songs that are a part of this production fit in naturally, some more so than others. (Although the production numbers with large numbers of dancing guards seem less organic to the story.) Some of the songs are more spoken than sung, which works especially well in an early scene set in a theater, in which Cyrano’s lines have an almost rap quality.

Peter Dinklage stars as Cyrano, Haley Bennett as Roxanne and Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Christian in Joe Wright’s CYRANO A Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures film Photo credit: Peter Mountain © 2021 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.

There are various themes entwined in all of this. One of those focuses on love and our desire to be loved. Often, however, at the same time, we feel unworthy of love. Each of the three main characters are deeply in love, but they each feel that for whatever reason, they don’t deserve to be loved: Cyrano because of his abnormal body, Christian because he can’t live up to the words that Cyrano has put in the letters, Roxanne because she wants more from love than she thinks anyone can give. It raises the question of what it means to be worthy of love—or more precisely if it’s possible to be unworthy. Love is not something we earn, but something bestowed upon us as a gift. That is a key point of the Christian faith: that God loves us not because we are worthy, but because God deems us worthy.

Honesty is another issue that this story deals with. Obviously, Cyrano and Christian are not being honest with the woman they both love. But we also know that Cyrano writes honestly. Everything he writes is from his own heart. The only dishonest thing about it is having Christian sign the letters. In time, Christian realizes this truth, and demands that they come clean with Roxanne—that she deserves the truth and to know of the love they both hold for her. De Guiche’s dishonesty is evident from when we first see him. His ostentatiousness, his highly powdered face and ghastly wig, serve to hide anything that might be considered common. His more shameful nature is hidden from view by his wealth and power.

Haley Bennett stars as Roxanne and Ben Mendelsohn as De Guiche in Joe Wright’s CYRANO A Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures film Photo credit: Peter Mountain © 2021 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.

We also see the way pride interplays with a sense of inferiority.  De Guiche may try to hide himself with makeup and clothing, but Cyrano has no way to hide the part that makes him different. But both of these men have a great measure of pride. De Guiche’s pride is much more in the nature of hubris. His pride comes not from accomplishment, but from his position. For him, pride is just another bit of makeup to cover his lack of love. Cyrano’s pride comes from overcoming his adversity. However, he allows that pride to stand in the way of achieving the one thing he desires in life.

Cyrano is the story of all who long to love and be loved. It calls us to allow ourselves those blessings.

Haley Bennett stars as Roxanne in Joe Wright’s CYRANO A Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures film Photo credit: Peter Mountain © 2021 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Cyrano is playing in wide theatrical release.

Darkest Hour – The Birth of a Legend

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“He mobilized the English language and sent it into battle.”

Winston Churchill is an icon. He is most certainly counted among the greatest (if not the greatest) statesmen of the twentieth century. His voice and inspiring speeches are well known. He led Britain when they stood almost alone against Nazi Germany. And yet, no one really wanted him as Prime Minister. Darkest Hour shows us the early crisis that he faced on becoming Prime Minister, and how close to failure he came.

Gary Oldman stars as Winston Churchill in director Joe Wright’s DARKEST HOUR, a Focus Features release.

The film opens on May 9, 1940, just as Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (Ronald Pickup) is being forced to resign because of his handling of the situation in Europe. While others in the party would like the Viscount Halifax (Stephen Dillane) to assume the leadership, he prefers to wait until “his time”. The only person who would be able to have the needed support of the opposition is Churchill (Gary Oldman), whom everyone loathes. He is seen as a failure, a drunk, too old (65), an inept bumbler who is too war hungry. Others would seek a diplomatic solution, especially since the entire British army is stranded at Dunkirk. (It is a happy coincidence that Dunkirk played this summer so we can have a better understanding of just how dire that situation was.) Even King George VI is upset that he must ask Churchill to become Prime Minister.

Over the next few days (the film only covers less than three weeks) Churchill must simultaneously try to save the stranded army, prepare the nation for war, and keep his government together even as members of his own party try to undermine him. At times it seems his only allies are his wife Clemmie (Kristin Scott Thomas) and new typist Elizabeth Layton (Lily James).

Lily James stars as Elizabeth Layton and Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill in director Joe Wright’s DARKEST HOUR, a Focus Features release.Credit: Jack English / Focus Features

The Winston Churchill we see in this film is not yet the legend he is to become. He is surely bigger than life. He is loud, rude, and self-absorbed. But essentially he is determined. While others are willing to seek peace with Hitler at any cost, Churchill seems almost alone in understanding that this is a battle against evil that must be fought. He will not allow the underhanded politics to stop him as he sets the British nation on a path to stand firm against Germany.

Much of the film deals with the question of peace. Is Churchill wrong to discount the possibility of peace talks to avoid the war? When Halifax makes his case, it is not unlike the arguments made before any war—arguments that many in the US made before the Iraq War, for example. And there are many who find those arguments persuasive. Looking back at history, we understand why Churchill felt he must stand firm against Hitler. But in the few days that this film covers, that sentiment was far from obvious. It meant that Britain would be standing alone against a powerful adversary.

Gary Oldman stars as Winston Churchill in director Joe Wright’s DARKEST HOUR, a Focus Features release.
Credit: Jack English / Focus Features

This is not just a story of legend coming to be. It shows us his very human, at times even eccentric nature. While we generally think that Churchill was the obvious person to lead Britain at that critical time, in this film we see that it was a job he grew into—and had to do so very quickly. We also get to hear bits of his early speeches—speeches that won the support of the British people in what would be a very trying battle for the nation’s very life. There are reasons that we view Churchill as an icon. We see the beginnings of that in this film.

 

Pan: What’s In A Name?

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peterpan2

Peter Pan (Levi Miller) is the kid who wants to find his mother before he’s the boy who never grew up. That is, before he never grew up, he was just an orphaned, little boy missing his mother. Imprisoned in an orphanage with the ominously hoarding Mother Barnabas (Kathy Burke), Peter leads a mini-rebellion and is sold into pirate slavery under the deliciously evil Captain Blackbeard (Hugh Jackman, channelling his inner Johnny Depp) in Neverland. Now, we’re getting somewhere: the legend has begun.

Jason Fuchs’ script was on the Hollywood “Blacklist” of most desirable scripts (he’s scheduled to pen Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman for 2017) but somewhere along the way, director Joe Wright got lost in the eyes of most critics. To be fair, the film is not great – certainly not as good as Robin Williams’ Hook – but the story of searching, seeking, and longing for something lost is still pretty compelling. It’s a little spooky, like a Tim Burton film, but it’s not as abysmal as some have painted it to be.

Of course, this is a prequel, and as such, Peter makes friends with his future enemy, Hook (Garrett Hedlund, who overacts his way starboard), and Hook’s accomplice, Smee (Adeel Akhtar). There are giant crocodiles, mermaids, and an Indian princess named Tiger Lily (Rooney Mara), but this isn’t your grandfather’s (or Disney’s) Peter Pan. This is more complicated, more realistic (!), more emotionally charged, as Peter begins to understand where he came from, and the power in his own name.

peterpan1Now, we’re well-versed in names this year, are we not? There’s Max’s name in George Miller’s dystopian thriller and Adonis’ surname in Creed. These are people searching for purpose and meaning, wondering who they are and what it means to be themselves. In Pan, this pressure has been placed inside the youthful heart of Peter, who wants to be someone – someone loved, respected, and related. It’s the cry of his heart, and one that many of us, orphaned or not, can relate to.

Over and over in the Bible, we are reminded that human beings were created in the image of God (imago dei, Genesis 1:27), adopted by God (Ephesians 1:5), called the children of God (John 1:12), and given new names (Revelations 2:17). Peter’s search of self-discovery isn’t really to discover himself but to connect and understand the bigger picture and the greater context. That is our quest as well, is it not?

The Blu-ray/DVD combo pack sports several in-depth looks at the film, from the way that Fuchs’ expanded on J.M. Barrie’s classic world of Neverland, the search that resulted in Miller’s being chosen to play Peter, Jackman’s work to ‘flesh out’ Blackbeard, and trip through the world of Neverland itself.