Penelope: Bad Nose Job Done Well review
Devang Ghia reviews Penelope (2006)
You have seen fairy tale romances and disliked them. Improbable stories with exaggerated performances to boot, these cheesy movies can be no ones idea of a good film. Yet, I would recommend Penelope. It has all the elements of a bad romance but it manages to steer clear of all of them. It's an unassuming little movie that stays afloat thanks to its charming lead Christina Ricci.
Born into a rich family, Penelope bears the brunt of an ancient curse which has condemned the next female born into the family to have the features of a pig. That is to say, she has a snout. Despite this grotesque distortion, Ricci looks alluring. So you know its exaggeration when potential suitors are literally repelled by her. Afraid that the press and the world at large will make an issue out of this, she has been concealed from the public eye ever since childhood. It's easy to guess the rest... A prince charming comes along, is not exactly repelled by what he sees, our heroine does venture out into the open and we all know that curses are meant to be broken.
I cant remember the last time I liked a filmed fairy tale. So what is it about Penelope that makes me recommend it? Besides Ricci, the male lead James McAvoy has an immensely likeable quality about him. Disheveled and unkempt, he still manages to hold his own against Ricci. And then, there is the fluent direction by Palansky. He takes you through the movie so smoothly, you never realize it's a when it gets over. After the movie ended, I was surprised I liked it inspite of itself.
Towards the end, there is a cameo by Reese Witherspoon. It's a role so brief and so pointless, it could have been played by anybody. So why did Witherspoon take on such a thankless part? Only when the end credits roll out and you see her name listed as one of the producers does the mystery become clear.
This is the first major movie directed by Palansky. Creating something out of nothing is the hallmark of a good director and he has managed just that. It shall be interesting to see what he comes up with next.
Director: Mark Palansky
[rating:3]
