Penelope (Christina Ricci)

(Amazon UK link)

I have no idea why Amazon recommended this particular DVD to me, unless it was that I had previously bought something featuring Reese Witherspoon. Not that she is a main character in ‘Penelope’. Whatever the reason, I liked the sound of the blurb and the reviews were good, so it went on my wishlist and I was given it for Christmas. We decided to watch it last night.

The opening scenes make it clear that this is a modern fairy-tale. The film was made in 2006, and the story was contemporary to that time. However it started some generations back, when an upper class 'blue-blooded' man fell in love with a serving maid, but his family did not allow her to marry him. The maid’s mother, who was a witch, cursed the family: the first daughter born to them would have the face of a pig. The curse would only be broken when someone ‘of her kind’ loved her for herself. It felt as if it should have been made in the UK, where 'old blood' and this kind of class snobbery is (or was) more common than the US, where it is set.

No daughters were born to the family over many decades, until Penelope (Christina Ricci) arrived. Her parents brought her up in a very isolated way, presumably educated at home but with every advantage which money could bring. We meet her when she is in her late teens, and her mother has started trying to attract suitors. She wants her daughter to get married as soon as possible, to someone who will presumably break the curse.

Since Penelope does not go out, young man ‘of her kind’ are invited to the mansion, where they speak to her without seeing her, at first. Unfortunately, when they finally see her face, they are so shocked that they escape as fast as they can, signing a nondisclosure agreement so that nobody else knows what the problem is.

It’s quite a fast-moving film, with some humour in places, and a great deal of action. There are journalists, and a suitor who makes friends with Penelope before seeing her, and isn’t repulsed by her face, but still insists he cannot marry her. Eventually, covering her face with a scarf, she runs away from home…

There’s a love story running through the latter part of the film, but it’s very low-key. The story is really about finding acceptance; about personality being far more important than looks. Essentially it’s ‘Beauty and the Beast’ in reverse. I was totally caught up in the storyline and worried for a while that Penelope might marry the wrong man. I wasn’t expecting some of the ending but it all worked well, and was a very satisfactory film overall.

The casting is excellent, with appropriate amounts of melodrama and over-acting from Penelope's mother and a few other caricatured people. Reese Witherspoon doesn't actually appear until about half-way through the film, and portrays rather a different character from her normal types.

The rating is U (G in the US) and I think that’s appropriate. Other than a mildly tense scene at the beginning, and an innuendo that would go over most young children’s heads, it’s free of anything that might upset or offend anyone. Very little bad language, as far as I recall; no scenes of intimacy; no violence - other than a few broken windows. It’s a film I’m going to recommend to three young friends of mine, aged between twelve and seven.

Highly recommended for anyone wanting a light, somewhat surreal but undemanding and enjoyable evening's viewing.

There's a short 'extra' on the DVD with a few brief interviews, and explanation of how Penelope's pig face was made.

Review copyright 2018 Sue's DVD Reviews