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Penelope U SCREENINGS The tale of Penelope did not start well, her beauty transformed by an evil spell. To the world outside the news was big; a poor little girl with the nose of a pig. How to break the curse? Well, nobody knows...unless a handsome prince can be made to propose. In this wonderful modern-day fairytale, Penelope (Christina Ricci) is a beautiful young girl with an extraordinary curse. Hidden away from the world in her family's majestic home, Penelope dreams of breaking free of the enchantment but true love is hard to find when young men run away screaming. That is, until shee meets Max (James McAvoy) a down-on-his-luck musician and Annie (Reece Witherspoon), a free-spirited rock-chick, who encourage her to come out of hiding and find her true self. Penelope soon discovers that sometimes what you're looking for can be right under your nose... BBFC advice: Contains one use of mild language "...While the plot itself appears to have been cursed with some scenes stretched to breaking point, the theme of self-acceptance is sensitively played out and Penelope's predictable 'beauty is only skin deep' moment of realisation strikes a touching chord. But it's James McAvoy's irrepressible on-screen charm as likeable rogue/suitor Max, alongside welcome cameos from Nick Frost and Russell Brand, that manages to rescue this otherwise underwhelming fantasy from being a second-rate Shrek fable." “... As the best indie fables either star Christina Ricci or have been made with her in mind, it’s nice to see her do something more than look winsomely ethereal. While she does stand around looking picturesque in beautifully made clothes, Penelope’s also got some gumption. When nobody rescues her from her ivory tower, Penelope goes off to rescue herself instead. It’s here that the story gets muddled: wrapping her face in a scarf like a preposterously poorly disguised bank robber, she goes shopping, rides on Vespas with new chum Reese Witherspoon and, when her identity is revealed, becomes a media star - which makes the story’s focus somewhat muddled. Penelope’s world is a nylon version of Amélie, an impeccably dressed London/New York hybrid where impoverished gamblers live in vast brick lofts overlooking twinkling city-scapes. The one glitch comes from the schnozz itself. Considering the horse-faced appearance of much of the British aristocracy, throwing yourself out of a window when confronted by Christina Ricci sporting a dainty pig nose is absurd. Still, the convictions of the cast and an extremely snappy script fill in most of the gaps caused by the wobbly plot-lines. Verdict - Penelope’s about as convincingly ugly as Claudia Schiffer with sunburn, but that’s a small flaw in an otherwise lovely fairy tale." UK RELEASE 1 February 2008 DIRECTOR Mark Palansky CAST Christina Ricci, James McAvoy, Catherine O'Hara, Peter Dinklage, Richard E Grant, Reese Witherspoon RUNNING TIME 93 minutes COUNTRY UK / USA official film website
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