Penelope
I’m a Little Teapot, Short and Snout
*** out of *****
According to Wikipedia, the first real fairy tale appeared in Egypt around 3,300 years ago, when stories were propagated verbally rather than written down. It’s no wonder that these fables captured people’s imaginations; they were scary and dark, funny and cute, and most involved some good lessons on how to live like a champ. It’s no surprise that they survive today, in much the same form as when they were whispered to rapt crowds around that Egyptian campfire all those centuries ago. Penelope is one such tale - a quirky, old fashioned story of honor, truth and dignity and of loving someone for who they really are.
Our story: several hundred years ago, hurt by the loss of a loved one, a witch places a curse on the aristocratic Wilhern family, stating that the next girl born would be burdened with the face of a pig until she is ‘loved by one of her own’. However, the next few generations of Wilherns produce only boys, until Jessica Wilhern (Catherine O’Hara) gives birth to young Penelope (Christina Ricci), who does indeed have a large, upturned snout.
Loved by her parents but sheltered her entire life, Penelope is repeatedly scorned by the blue-blood suitors arranged by a hi-so dating agency, each of whom end up running for the hills when they see her face. To get rid of the curse, her mother thinks, all they need to do is find someone who’ll say “I do”, and her flawed face will finally be a match for her radiant spirit. But when a reporter (Peter Dinklage) who was once scorned (and scarred) by Jessica sends in a mole to get some pictures, the mole (James McAvoy) ends up instilling Penelope with the confidence to ditch her cushy surroundings and head out into the city on her own - albeit with a scarf around her face - to experience life anew.
To be blunt, most of the themes have been done a thousand times, with varying degrees of success - essentially versions of the princess/knight/evil stepmother milieu. While watching, I was struck by the fact that this is the type of movie Tim Burton would have directed ten years ago; vivid colors, non-specific geography, varying accents and offbeat characters are the norm throughout. Director Mark Palansky keeps things consistent - from the butler who wears bright red running shoes to chase the escaping suitors (and force them to sign a gag order) to the slightly exaggerated panoramas of Penelope’s unnamed city, there exists a vaguely surreal twinge at the edge of every frame, which suits the tone just right.
Ricci brings a considerable amount of charm to the role, using her cow-sized brown eyes to great effect. She’s charismatic and funny and smart - if only it weren’t for that awful nose! In fact, the entire cast is quite charming, which takes the movie a bit further than it would have with actors who have less experience with the more fanciful side of film making (Ricci was in Sleepy Hollow; McAvoy was in the first Narnia film; Dinklage was in Elf, O’Hara in Beetlejuice, etc). The film’s producer, Reese Witherspoon, also shows up as Annie, a girl who befriends Penelope in the city, but her role is small, only there to add a bit of star power to the proceedings. One of my favourite performances was little-person Dinklage, as reporter Lemon, who has some great lines and delivers them with a just-right mixture of compassion and smarm. I was a bit bewildered by O’Hara’s performance though; it seems almost like she’s in another movie, acting slightly more bizarre and over the top than everyone around her.
Penelope loses a bit of energy in the second half, but not because of lack of effort - there’s just a lot going on. A few new subplots, a few new characters and a cliché or two don’t unravel things, but they do cause the film to lose a bit of focus. The script remains nicely centered on Penelope, but things go on a bit too long after she finds true love (although it provides and enjoyable twist - it’s not who you think it is). Things don’t end on a bad note - just a cheesy one.
If you’re a fan of Edward Scissorhands or Amelie, this will likely appeal to you. If you’re at the theatre, you could do worse than this, but as a smaller, more personal movie (that was actually filmed in 2006), I think it’s more suitable to a television at home, sharing a bowl of popcorn with your sweetie. Just don’t pig out.
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