HI, I'm Steph, 20 from Warrington! I also write on the review site DooYoo under the same name :) Th...
HI, I'm Steph, 20 from Warrington! I also write on the review site DooYoo under the same name :) Thanks to everyone who rates me, especially the E's! I am very grateful for all rates! :o)
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PENELOPE
Film Only Review
Details:
Directed by: Mark Palansky Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Comedy Release Date: 1 February 2008 Runtime: 104 minutes Classification: U Starring: Richard E Grant Catherine o Hara Christina Ricci James McAvoy
Plot:
The Wilhern family have been cursed. 5 generations ago, a scandal in the family caused a witch to curse the family saying that the first born female would have the face of a pig. But from then until the time the film is set, there were no girls born in the Wilhern family, until, Penelope. The curse made Penelope have the face of a pig, and would only wear off once "one of her own" loved her for who she was.
Everyone wanted to see the girl
with the pigs nose and ears, but her mother was ashamed, she didn't want her daughter to be seen, and so, the family decided to fake her death, for her own good of course...
18 years later, and it was time to find a suitable husband for her, anyone with blue blood who would marry her was welcome, with the incentive of $10,000. But in 7 years there had been no luck, every man who had set eyes on her had run a mile when they saw her. Her parents then sent the butler after the men in question to sign a form to say they would not mention the occasion to anybody.
Everything was going well, until one man got away, Edward. Edward made sure he got a distorted image of Penelope before he ran, and then went to the papers, only to be accused of been mad. That is when he gets in touch with Lemon, a journalist who has a vendetta against Penelope's mother after she lost him an eye. And they set out to ruin Penelope and get her face in the newspapers.
Lemon and Edward look for a blue blooded man, who they can pay off, to go into the Wilhern house and meet Penelope, and get a secret photograph of Penelope.
But they don't plan on what then happens. When Penelope is refused marriage for a final time, she is fed up of life as she leads it, and runs away to have her independance. She has learned to live with the fact that the curse may never be broken.
But there is so much to look forward to and go through, and a huge twist in the curse put upon the Wilhurn family that no man can break.
My Opinion:
This wasn't a film I was looking forward to seeing, it was never really advertised much when it was out at the cinema, and I only heard of it through my Film Studies class in college. I had no clue what the storyline was about as I had never seen a trailer on TV, but when I saw it in the Sky Movies magazine, I thought it looked watchable, and set a reminder for tonight.
The film is filmed alot in London, and has many English actors in it; James McAvoy, Simon Woods, Richard E Grant, but is an American fairy tale.
The film has some funny, but not laugh out loud scenes, and some serious and dramatic scenes. Penelope is not the biggest film of the decade, but it is a good watch. James McAvoys character of Max/Johnothan is a great character (and VERY good to look at!). I love him in pretty much everything he does, and this especially. He plays a great part in the film, as a fabulous British actor, he is wonderful in Penelope alongside Christina Ricci.
This film really has a feel good factor about it, it's a lovely fairytale which can be loved again and again. The scenery is great and has a kind of Tim Burton feel to it, I'm not sure where this comes from, as he isn't any part of the production or direction of this film. But it has that kind of feel to it, especially with the outcast protagonist and all.
If you like a nice fairytale with a good storyline, a good cast and which is well filmed then you will like this film. Think films like Enchanted, Bewitched, and some of the Tim Burton films (Edward Scissorhands for example).
A nice little film which is great for all the family, again, not the best film in the world, but still a nice film to watch together, an easy to understand storyline and a heart warming ending.
Summary: A good family fairytale.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 1993 - Family - Director: Tim Burton, Henry Selick - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring: Ken Page, Pee-Wee Herman, Glenn Shadix, William Hickey, Catherine O'Hara, Chris Sarandon, Danny Elfman
Advantages: Charming, funny, romantic, sad, compelling, good cast, great musical scor Disadvantages: None for me, as long as you accept it for what it is.
grafter123 13.06.2008 (29.06.2008)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Penelope (DVD)
Advantages: Charming, funny, romantic, sad, compelling, good cast, great musical scor Disadvantages: None for me, as long as you accept it for what it is.
grafter123 13.06.2008 (29.06.2008)
·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Penelope (DVD)
very helpful by (100%):
