Penelope (2006 film)

Penelope is a 2006 fantasy romantic comedy film directed by Mark Palansky and starring Christina Ricci, James McAvoy, Catherine O'Hara, Peter Dinklage, Richard E. Grant, and Reese Witherspoon (who also produced the film). The film tells the story of an ugly young heiress named Penelope Wilhern, who had been born with the snout of a pig due to a curse that was placed on her family by a vengeful witch, believing the only way to break the curse was to find someone who truly loved her.

Plot
Years before the events of the film, servant woman Clara falls in love with wealthy blue blood Ralph Wilhern and becomes pregnant with his child. However, at the urging of his disapproving parents, Ralph marries another woman, leading a heartbroken Clara to commit suicide by jumping off a cliff. Her enraged mother, the town witch, places a curse on the Wilhern bloodline; the next Wilhern daughter will be born with the face of a pig, only to become human when "one of her own kind" learns to love her. However, the Wilherns only give birth to sons for five generations until the birth of Franklin and Jessica Wilhern's child, Penelope.

Ashamed of her daughter's face and afraid of a media scandal, Jessica claims that Penelope died as an infant and hides her away in their mansion. After Penelope's eighteenth birthday, Jessica hires a matchmaker, Wanda, and begins seeking out suitors, believing the love of another blue blood is the only way to lift the curse.

Seven years later, all of Penelope's suitors have fled in terror upon seeing her face, including Edward Humphrey Vanderman III. Edwards conspires with tabloid reporter Lemon to photograph Penelope to prove her existence and hires young blue blood Max Campion to pose as a new suitor, planting a camera in his jacket. After having conversations through a one-way mirror, Max and Penelope develop genuine feelings for each other. When Max sees her face, he is shocked — but not frightened — and accidentally triggers the camera. Regretful of his attempts to exploit Penelope, Max calls off his agreement with Lemon and Edward and destroys the camera. Penelope begs him to marry her, promising it will lift the curse, but Max declines.

Tired of the matchmaking and inspired by Max's conversations about the outside world, Penelope escapes and journeys out into the city. She covers her face with a scarf in public to keep anonymous, secretly selling photos of herself to Lemon to earn money. At a local bar she frequents, she befriends delivery girl Annie, who takes her on trips around the city. After several weeks, Penelope is spotted by her parents, but rushes back to the bar before they can confront her, where she faints. Annie removes the scarf to help her breathe and exposes her as the supposedly dead Penelope Wilhern to the other bar patrons. Much to Penelope's surprise, the public is fascinated and enamored with her face, and she becomes an overnight celebrity.

Meanwhile, Edward’s father, having seen the public's fondness for Penelope and embarrassed by his son's vocal cruelty toward her, coerces Edward into proposing to her. Lemon discovers that the real Max Campion is imprisoned for armed robbery; the man he had been working with is actually a gambler named Johnny Martin whom Lemon had mistaken for Max. Lemon shares this with Jessica and Wanda on Penelope's wedding day, but Jessica decides to not relay it to Penelope. At her wedding, Penelope realizes that she does not want to marry simply to break the curse. She flees from the altar, locks herself in her room, and declares that she likes herself the way she is. As Penelope has finally been loved by "one of her own kind" – herself – the curse is lifted, and her pig snout and ears disappear.

Some time later, Penelope becomes an elementary school horticulture teacher, and the public's interest in her has begun to wane. She eventually learns the truth about Johnny's identity from Wanda and visits his apartment during a Halloween party while wearing a pig mask. Johnny kisses Penelope and apologizes for not having the power to break the curse, but she takes off her mask and reveals that she held the power all along.

The Wilhern's butler Jake, revealed to be the witch who cast the original curse, casts one final spell to render Jessica mute for an indeterminate amount of time before quitting his position. While Johnny and Penelope are at a park with her students, Lemon discreetly approaches and tries to take a photo to prove that the broken has been lifted. He ultimately decides against it upon seeing how happy they are and leaves them alone.

Cast

 * Christina Ricci as Penelope Wilhern, an ugly young heiress who was born with the face of a pig
 * Andi-Marie Townsend portrays a younger Penelope Wilhern
 * James McAvoy as John "Johnny" Martin, a man who uses the alias of "Max Campion" who is Penelope’s love interest.
 * Nick Frost plays the real Max Campion, a man who was cut off from his family due to his gambling problems
 * Catherine O'Hara as Jessica Wilhern, the mother of Penelope
 * Peter Dinklage as Lemon, a tabloid reporter who plans to reveal Penelope's existence
 * Richard E. Grant as Franklin Wilhern, the father of Penelope
 * Reese Witherspoon as Annie, a delivery girl who befriends Penelope
 * Ronni Ancona as Wanda, a matchmaker
 * Simon Woods as Edward Humphrey Vanderman III, a former suitor of Penelope who allies with Lemon
 * Nigel Havers as Edward Vanderman II, the father of Edward Vanderman III
 * Burn Gorman as Larry
 * Russell Brand as Sam
 * John Voce as Duty Cop
 * Lenny Henry as Krull
 * Richard Leaf as Jack, the bartender of a bar which is frequented by Annie
 * Michael Feast as Jake, a butler who works for the Wilhern family
 * Michael Feast also portrays the true form of the Witch who cursed the Wilhern family

Background and production
The production of Penelope started in January 2006 in London and Pinewood Studios, Buckinghamshire. The film's screenplay was written by Leslie Caveny. A novelization of the film was written by Marilyn Kaye. It premiered at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival. It was also Reese Witherspoon's first film in a producing role along with a small acting role. Shortly after, IFC Films acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film, with The Weinstein Company handling the home media and television distribution, with a planned mid-2007 release. Summit Entertainment eventually picked up United States distribution rights.

Critical response
Critics gave mixed reviews. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film 53% based on 128 reviews. The site's consensus reads "Though Penelope has a charming cast and an appealing message, it ultimately suffers from faulty narrative and sloppy direction." Metacritic gives the film a weighted average rating of 48%, based on 29 reviews — indicating mixed or average reviews.

Box office
The film premiered September 8, 2006 at the Toronto International Film Festival. It was also shown at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2007. The film opened in Russia and Ukraine in August 2007. Penelope was released in the United Kingdom on February 1, 2008. It opened in wide release in the United States and Canada on February 29, 2008.

The film opened in ninth place and earned $3.8 million USD on its opening weekend in the United States.

By October 5, 2008, the film had grossed $20.8 million worldwide—with $6.5 million in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Malta.

Home media
Penelope was released on DVD and Blu-ray on July 15, 2008 in the United States. It included a 2:35:1 anamorphic widescreen and an English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround track. The extras were a behind-the-scenes featurette, cast and crew, production notes, and world-premiere features from the upcoming Summit film Twilight as well as behind-the-scenes features and interviews from the film, released four months later. Only the German Blu-ray version of the film, released in 2011, carries the full 104-minute version of the film. US and UK releases of the film are all the edited 88/89 minute cut.

Soundtrack
Joby Talbot composed the music for the film. A soundtrack album was released.