Penelope (2006)

A modern romantic tale about a young aristocratic heiress born under a curse that can only be broken when she finds true love with "one who will accept her as one of their own."

Director:

Mark Palansky

Writer:

Leslie Caveny

Stars:

Christina Ricci, James McAvoy, Reese Witherspoon

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Richard E. Grant	...	Franklin Wilhern
Catherine O'Hara	...	Jessica Wilhern
Nick Prideaux	...	Penelope's Great-Grandfather (as Nicholas Prideaux)
Michael Feast	...	Jake / Witch
Christina Ricci	...	Penelope Wilhern
Ronni Ancona	...	Wanda
Simon Woods	...	Edward Vanderman
Paul Herbert	...	Leonard Wilhern
Simon Chandler	...	Doctor
Peter Dinklage	...	Lemon
Andi-Marie Townsend	...	Young Penelope
John Voce	...	Station Cop
Burn Gorman	...	Larry
Andrew Bailey	...	Floorman in Card Club
James McAvoy	...	Johnny / Max

Storyline

In this modern-day romantic tale, Penelope is about a young girl's inspiring journey, a mysterious family secret, and the power of love. With all odds against her, in order for Penelope to break the family curse, she must find true love with "one of her own kind". Penelope Wilhern, born to wealthy socialites, is afflicted by the Wilhern spell that can only be broken when she finds love. Hidden away in her family's estate, the lonely girl meets a string of suitors in her parents' futile attempt to break the curse. Each eligible bachelor is enamored with Penelope and her sizable dowry; until her curse is revealed. Lemon, a mischievous and eager tabloid reporter, wants a photograph of the mysterious Penelope and hires Max to pose as a prospective suitor to get the shot. The handsome down-on-his luck gambler finds himself falling for Penelope, but cannot bring himself to give her what she wants. Fed up by this latest betrayal and determined to live life on her own terms, Penelope breaks ...

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Plot Keywords:

magical realism | rich parents | female protagonist | scarf | mother daughter relationship | 

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Taglines:

A fairytale like no other.

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic elements, some innuendo and language

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 February 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Пенелопа

Filming Locations:

56 Holland Park, Holland Park, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£769,840 (United Kingdom), 3 February 2008, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,802,144, 2 March 2008, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$10,011,274, 1 June 2008

Company Credits

Production Co:

Summit Entertainment,Stone Village Pictures,Type A Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min 86 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

As the movie was filmed in the U.K., many of the actors who play American characters are actually British, such as Ronni Ancona, James McAvoy, Nick Frost and Burn Gorman.

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Goofs

We see baby and young Penelope with a large set of floppy pig ears, but when they flash to her as an adult, they are gone, and when a reporter asks if she has "any other "pig parts" she replies no as if insulted. As if the large pig ears never existed.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Penelope: My parents were born into the good life. Old money, blue blooded, society sweethearts.

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Alternate Versions

About 20 minutes were cut from the film for its US release, and some other minor edits were made, mostly to eliminate some mild usage of profanity. This was most likely done to secure a PG rating.

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Connections

References Beauty and the Beast (1976)

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Soundtracks

Queen of the Surface Streets
Written and Performed by DeVotchKa

User Reviews

A Beautiful Film!

I saw "Penelope" at the US premiere at CineVegas last week. It has a very sweet message about self-acceptance that we could all use a little more of these days. I loved the hyper- real, brightly colored, Tim Burtonesque look of the film, it helped to accentuate the fairy tale aspect.

I also thought all of the performances, especially Christina Ricci and Katherine O'Hara, were excellent. Reese Witherspoon as a leather wearing, gum chewing, scooter riding messenger girl seemed a bit miscast, but she was actually good and had one of the funnier lines of the film.

While there's nothing laugh out loud funny, this sweet story makes you smile again and again.

I would recommend this film for audiences of all ages because I don't think you're ever too old for it's message and it doesn't talk down to an adult audience.