PENELOPE (Toronto International Film Festival, Release Toronto, Canada 2006)

Ben Meyers’ rating: 4.1|5.0 Starsìììì

Penelope—good story, worth watching—has a wonderful moral to the story that reveals itself in such a way that one does not feel ‘talked down to’ or ‘preached to’. It’s honest. The acting is great. There are some sweet comedic scenes. It’s a great ‘new’ fairy tale with a freshness of its own.

Film Poster Courtesy of Wikipedia

Storyline

Generations before this story begins, the town witch (Michael Feast) places a curse on the blue-blood Wilhern family to the effect that the first girl born into the family will look like a pig until someone of her own kind falls in love with her. Generations later, the Wilhern family finally produce a daughter, Penelope (Christina Ricci), who, true to the curse, has a pig’s snout and pig’s ears. Her mother, Jessica (Catherine O’Hara), hides Penelope until she is old enough to marry, but suitors are repulsed by her pig face. The story is on as Penelope works through her misfortune, finds herself, and chooses to live a full life despite her appearance.

Additional Thanks

Great Work for Director Mark Palansky. Thank you to Executive Producers Christian Arnold-Beutel, Chris Curling, Danny Greenspun; Robin Greenspun, Dylan Russell, and Andrew Molasky for making the film possible. Additional characters/cast include: Franklin Wilhern (Richard E. Grant), Penelope’s Great Grandfather (Nick Prideaux), Jake (Michael Feast), Wanda (Ronni Ancona), Edward Vanderman (Simon Woods), Leonard Wilhern (Paul Herbert), Doctor (Simon Chandler), Lemon (Peter Dinklage), and Young Penelope (Andi-Marie Townsend).

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?

Yes. It’s a heartfelt story for everyone to reflect upon and is worth a ticket.

Video Critique Available Here:

Ben Meyers