If you're wondering whether Peter Dinklage wears a fake nose in his new movie, the answer is "Cyra-no."

The title character generally has a large schnoz, marking him as an outsider who believes he's undeserving of romance, but the musical "Cyrano" uses Dinklage's 4-foot-5 stature instead.

Otherwise, the story is the same. It's the 1640s, France and Spain are warring and Cyrano pines for Roxane (Haley Bennett). But she is into handsome Christian (Kelvin Harrison Jr.), who's so tongue-tied that he asks Cyrano to help him woo the woman the poetic romantic wishes he were wooing himself.

Edmond Rostand's "Cyrano de Bergerac," an adaptation of which the Guthrie Theater performed in 2019, is more than a century old but "Cyrano"'s new take, with unmemorable, conversational songs by Aaron and Bryce Dessner of The National, originated Off-Broadway with Dinklage in the lead.

It can't do much with the gross issue at the center of "Cyrano" — the title character and Christian fool Roxane into falling for the wrong person — but making it a musical keeps it light on its feet (mostly) and its take on the relationships feels fresh.

Christian, for instance, has never made much sense. Sometimes, as in Steve Martin's "Roxanne," he's depicted as a handsome dope who's completely unworthy of our heroine. That can make Roxane seem vapid but Harrison's Christian is a worthy romantic rival for Cyrano who lacks his command of language. He's also given the best song, which may make audiences wonder how come he's so good at finding the right words when notes are attached to them.

Almost the first thing we hear from Bennett's Roxane is a song in which she insists "I'm nobody's pet," so we know she's not here for two dudes to bat back and forth like a ping-pong ball. In a movie that's very much about inner vs. outer beauty, Bennett makes sure we can see that her kind, cloistered character has both.

Dinklage's Cyrano is noble and funny — and nobody is going to invite Dinklage to join the Three Tenors but, yes, he can sing. His casting provides a reason to revisit this oft-told story because, instead of a fake nose that could fall off at any moment, it's all Dinklage, so we intuit that the actor has experienced many of the feelings Cyrano is feeling.

The main issue with this "Cyrano" is tone. Director Joe Wright ("The Darkest Hour") keeps things fluid and lively, embracing the quirks of a musical, with dancers popping up both when it makes sense for people to be dancing and when the characters need a form of expression that's deeper than words.

However, Wright has not figured out what to do with the big shift "Cyrano" takes when both leading men head off to war.

"Cyrano" inserts a battle hymn, sung by characters we don't even know, that throws us for a loop, especially when we're also trying to get a handle on a bright farce that suddenly turned tragic. That shift can work (or you can skip it, as "Roxanne" did) but Wright loses his way for a time.

He's back on solid ground for the finale, though. It takes place three years later and if it's not exactly a happy ending, it at least gives the characters the opportunity to reveal their hearts.

'Cyrano'

*** out of 4 stars

Rated: PG-13 for violence and language.

Where: Area theaters.