Cyrano Ending Explained

Warning: Major spoilers ahead for Cyrano.

Cyrano ending explained. Adapted from the 1897 play, Cyrano de Bergerac, by Edmond Rostand, Cyrano harkens back to the source material in many ways while boosting the story with musical numbers (by Bryce Dessner and Aaron Dessner) and a few minor changes to the story, including Cyrano’s final words.

Directed by Joe Wright from a screenplay by Erica Schmidt, who also wrote and directed the stage musical the film adaptation is based on, Cyrano follows the titular character (Game of Thrones’Peter Dinklage), a wordsmith and soldier in love with Roxanne (Haley Bennett), who he’s known since childhood. He’s on the Brink of telling her he loves her when she says she’s fallen in love with someone else — Christian (Kelvin Harrison, Jr.), a new soldier who recently joined Cyrano’s unit. Roxanne asks Cyrano to watch over Christian and, when it’s clear he feels the same way about Roxanne, Cyrano offers to write love letters to Roxanne on Christian’s behalf while pouring his own feelings into it.

The ending of Cyrano leaves everyone out of luck in love and the journey to get there makes the impact of Cyrano’s final words all the stronger for it. Here is Cyrano’s ending explained, including what the film’s finale really means.

Why Cyrano Doesn’t Tell Roxanne He Loves Her After Christian’s Death

On the frontlines of the war, Christian, realizing Cyrano loves Roxanne, admits they should tell her the truth. Christian, at this point, wanted to move forward with Roxanne with no lies between them; he also wanted her to love him for who he was and not who she believed him to be. He tried to convince Cyrano of that, but when the time came to put pen to paper, he avoided telling Roxanne the truth. A part of Cyrano wanted to preserve Christian’s memory and love for Roxanne so that she would continue to see him in a good light after his death. Crucially, Cyrano continued to keep the truth hidden from Roxanne because he couldn’t face her rejection. He was protecting himself, first and foremost. He may have cared somewhat for Christian, but Cyrano couldn’t face what he had done, especially since he played as big a role in lying to Roxanne as Christian did throughout the musical. And so he refused to fulfill Christian’s last wish, which didn’t do anyone any favors in the end.

How Peter Dinklage’s Casting Changed Cyrano’s Story

The original story — and in most every direct adaptation of the story — saw Cyrano with an overly large nose that was at the center of his deepest insecurities. His nose was also one of his most defining features. However, Dinklage’s casting changed things for the character. Notably, Cyrano’s insecurities and his fear of being rejected don’t stem from his nose being large at all, but from dwarfism. His physical appearance in the film adds layers that were previously not present, including how society perceives him, his social status, and how he views himself by comparison to Roxanne’s beauty. It gives Cyrano a unique and more grounded spin on the classic tale.

Why Cyrano Admits To Loving His Pride More Than Roxanne

Cyrano dies in Roxanne’s arms at the end of the film. After Roxanne admits her feelings for Cyrano and reveals she’s known for a while that he wrote Christian’s letters, Cyrano’s final line of dialogue is about loving his pride more than he ever loved Roxanne. It’s a devastating line because it happens when Cyrano is finally hearing what he’s always wanted from Roxanne — she reciprocates his love for her and there is seemingly hope for a potential romantic relationship. However, Cyrano’s line about loving his pride shifts the responsibility of not telling Roxanne the truth onto him. Ultimately, Cyrano doesn’t have anyone to blame but himself for his misery, not Roxanne or Christian, but his deep sense of pride.

It’s what really kept him from telling Roxanne he has feelings for her for so many years. Had he swallowed his pride, it’s possible he and Roxanne’s lives could have turned out differently. Perhaps they would have been together sooner. Pride is a hell of a thing, and Cyrano hid behind it while putting the blame on other aspects for his refusal to live in his truth. At the moment of his death, it’s as though Cyrano finally saw some clarity. Roxanne revealing her own feelings likely made him wonder why exactly he’d been holding back. Even if she didn’t love him, it’s unlikely Roxanne would have treated him with cruelty. For all his devotion to poetry and words from the heart, Cyrano’s ego kept him from living more openly and honestly. His pride hurt everyone around him, including himself.

The Biggest Changes From The Original Cyrano De Bergerac

For the most part, Joe Wright’s Cyrano doesn’t stray too far from Rostand’s original play. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t a few significant changes made when adapting the material to the big screen. The most obvious change is that Cyrano no longer has a large nose that is the primary source of his physical insecurities. Cyrano is also a musical adaptation, which is a far cry from the source material. The music in the film advances the storyline, allowing other aspects of the narrative to be changed without taking away from the heart of the story. Following Christian’s death in the play, there’s a 15-year time jump that sees Cyrano maintaining his secret love for Roxanne the whole time. However, the film changes that so it’s a three-year jump instead, a length of time that is easier to stomach before the protagonist himself dies. What’s more, Cyrano’s final words are not about loving his pride more than Roxanne, but about the only thing going with him when he dies is his panache. This, in and of itself, alters the effect and understanding of Cyrano’s choices in hindsight.

What Cyrano’s Ending Really Means

Cyrano’s ending ultimately speaks to how physical appearance, societal status — including how Cyrano is perceived by others that affects how he also feels about himself — and dishonesty can make one’s life less fulfilling. Cyrano’s insecurities colored his entire life and also impacted others indirectly. His fears stood in his way, which left him to hide behind someone else to experience the love he so truly desired. The ending shows a glimpse of the kind of life, one filled with love, that Cyrano de Bergerac could have led if he’d just gotten out of his head long enough. But it also goes to show just how deep some insecurities and his fears go that he would be willing to hold in his feelings for so long. Cyrano placed the perceptions he (and society) had of him over the way Roxanne saw him, which prevented him from having agency in his own story. The ending shows how staying hidden for so long leaves an emotional scar on Cyrano and Roxanne without properly allowing either of them to heal from the repercussions of the former’s actions.

About The Author

Mae Abdulbaki
(1093 Articles Published)

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Mae Abdulbaki is a movie reviews editor with Screen Rant. She previously wrote about a variety of movies and TV shows for Inverse, CinemaBlend, Pajiba, and The Young Folks, where she wrote reviews, features, news pieces. Her other work can be found at The Mary Sue, Film School Rejects, UPROXX, Heroic Hollywood, Looper, The List, and Bam Smack Pow, among others. Mae has also appeared on television segments, podcasts, and panels to discuss all things entertainment.

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