Penelope is a 2008 comedy-fantasy film from Summit Entertainment and Stone Village Pictures directed by Mark Palansky. It stars Christina Ricci as Penelope and James McAvoy as Max.
Plot
Generations ago, a witch placed a curse on the Wilhern family that would result in the next girl being born into the clan having the face of a pig. For generations, only sons were born into the family, until approximately twenty-five years ago, when Penelope was born, stricken with the curse. It is said that the curse can only be lifted if one of her own learns to love her, which is interpreted by her parents to mean a blueblood. When a tabloid reporter named Lemon (Peter Dinklage) begins stalking the family to get a photograph of the infant Penelope, her parents, Jessica (Catherine O'Hara) and Franklin (Richard E. Grant), cloister their daughter away in their mansion, where Penelope spends her life immersing herself in intellectual pursuits such as literature, horticulture and music. Now an adult, Penelope (Christina Ricci)'s parents attempt to introduce her to possible rich suitors, hoping that one of them will fall in love with her and break the curse. Unfortunately, every man who lays eyes on the girl takes flight at first sight, never to return, including Edward Humphrey Vanderman III, a spoiled, cruel-hearted snob who finds her repulsive.
Vanderman teams up with Lemon and the team goes out to find someone who can get into the house for a picture. They mistakenly take Johnny (James McAvoy), an unrepentant gambler with a heavy heart, for Max (Nick Frost), who agrees to help Lemon and Vanderman snatch a photograph of her for money. When "Max" meets Penelope, however, he is unexpectedly caught off guard by her disarming charm, and decides to renege on his agreement with Lemon and Vanderman, realizing that their attempt to exploit Penelope is repugnant, but Penelope interprets "Max's" ambivalence to mean that he too finds her monstrous. She decides to flee the protection of her parents' home, and journeys out into the city, naive and ignorant of the world from which she has been sequestered her entire life. Having no money, and seeing that Lemon and Vanderman are publicly offering a reward to anyone who can produce a photograph of her, she decides to collect on the reward by producing a photo of herself, essentially coming out of hiding to the public.
Vanderman's father, seeing the public's fondness for Penelope and embarrassed by his son's vocal cruelty toward her, coerces Edward into proposing to her. Penelope nearly marries him, but backs out of the wedding at the last minute. When her mother urges her to marry him, lest she be forced spend the rest of her life with her current appearance, Penelope exasperatedly tells her mother that she likes herself the way she is. At that moment, she is enveloped by magical energy, and when it dissipates, her pig snout and ears are gone.
Penelope moves on with her life, becoming a horticulturist and teacher, the spectacle of her former appearance forgotten by the public. At a costume party at which she wears a porcine mask, she meets Max, who, unaware of her transformation, apologizes for not being able to break her curse, although it is obvious he is still in love with her. Removing her mask, she reciprocates his feelings, and the two begin a romance.
Cast
Christina Ricci as Penelope Wilhern
James McAvoy as Max/Johnny
Catherine O'Hara as Jessica Wilhern
Richard E. Grant as Franklin Wilhern
Reese Witherspoon as Annie
Peter Dinklage as Lemon
Simon Woods as Edward Vanderman III
Ronni Ancona as Wanda
Nick Frost as Max Campion
Lenny Henry as Krull
Background & Production
The production of the film started in 2006 in London. According to Internet Movie Database, the whole movie was filmed in the UK. It premiered at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival.
The film's screenplay was written by Leslie Caveny. A novelization of the film was written by Marilyn Kaye.
The finished film was caught in limbo for over a year. Originally purchased by The Weinstein Company and IFC Films, it was removed from the release date schedule and eventually dropped by the two studios. Summit Entertainment eventually picked up U.S. distribution rights.
Box Office Performance
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.
As of April 27, 2008, the film has grossed $18.5 million worldwide
dah tgk. banyak cakap cerita ni tak best sangat. tapi pada aku its good (probably i'm biased cos there's james mcavoy). but got to say better than speed racer and over her dead body. period.
Originally posted by baduglyu at 1-6-2008 12:02 AM
oh wow reese witherspoon beside playing Annie is also producer on this movie. baru tahu.
tgk online sekali sekala. tapi quality tak best sangat.
Role Reese ni ciput sangat... dah 1/2 jalan baru kuar..kalo ade lebih banyak part die aku rasa lg best...
Kalo angau ngan McAvoy ni aku rekemen sangat2 tgk cite ni sbb die sangat BEST. Boleh menambahkan degree angau~
*hidung berdarah~* kekeke~!
Aaa~~ masa die suh Penelope teka die men instrument ape tu sangattt comeyyy! Tapi aku lebih tergoda masa die men piano (aku alergik sket ngan lelaki bermain piano2 neh~ haha! overdose anime n JDorama)
You Are My Sunshine My only sunshine. You make me happy When skies are grey. You'll never know, dear, How much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away
Post time 31-5-2008 10:40 PM
变色卡
Author
eh! dah tgk eks?? d/load ke??
tp shooting nyer lama dah, thn 2006 lagik!
tgk online sekali sekala. tapi quality tak best sangat.
)
