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SYNOPSIS:
Born with a snout of a pig, young Penelope Wilhern spends
life a virtual prisoner in her home. Believing that the only
way to break the curse is to marry one of her own kind, she
meets a number of suitors but all reject her. Two devious
men, one with a grudge against the family, hire a man to pose
as a suitor but complications arise when he begins to fall
in love with Penelope and she makes a bid for freedom.
MOVIE
REVIEW
"Penelope" is a modern day fairytale about
a young rich girl born with a snout of a pig. As unbelievable
as it sound, the only way to break the curse as per what her
mother believe, is to marry Penelope off to a man whose status
in society and wealth is comparable to her family.
But
how on earth would you find a rich offspring who will marry
a girl that looks grossly like a pig?
It’s
refreshing to see that the filmmakers have given a generic
love story with a fantasy twist and slight exaggerated humour
bits although I must say the second half of the story pretty
much botched the whole experience with a sinful rush ending
(which explains the 85 minutes runtime). The cast on the other
hand is almost faultless.
Christina
Ricci is a natural performer who embraced the character of
"Penelope" with genuine enthusiasm that you wonder
how you can help lift off the poor girl’s agony. James
McAvoy, the current IT boy (from Atonement and Wanted) starred
as the love interest that through certain I-shall-not-disclose-here
mishap starts to fall in love with Penelope. The weakest link
perhaps is there aren’t sufficient scenes between Ricci
and McAvoy to spark off the romance factor though it’s
entirely no fault of the Brit actor.
The
rest of the cast who contributed memorable performances includes
Catherine O’ Hara as Penelope’s over-protective
mother, Peter Dinklage as a pesky reporter named Lemon and
Reese Witherspoon who juggle as executive producer here as
well, pops in-and-out as Penelope’s friend.
Despite
a relatively low budget, "Penelope" is shot beautifully
on location in London with impressive sets and cinematography.
If not for the above said rush ending, this could well be
an above average rom-com. And next time, you come across anyone
with less than desirable looks or features, there’s
no need to rush straight to the doors, crash through windows,
remember it’s not the looks that count.
SPECIAL FEATURES :
This Code 3 disc contains no special features.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The
video transfer is respectable while the DVD comes equipped
with Dolby Digital 2.0, sufficient to support a dialogue-based
movie like "Penelope".
MOVIE
RATING:
DVD
RATING :
Review
by Linus Tee
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