Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
Forlorn heiress Penelope Wilhern is cursed, and the only way out is to fall in love with someone of suitable stock. But how can she find her soulmate when she's sequestered inside her family's estate with only her parents to keep her company? This untraditional fairy tale is about a girl who bucks convention to create her own happy ending.
Penelope is a charming modern fairy tale with a likable cast including Christina Ricci and James McAvoy, but it never quite transcends its premise. The plot is serviceable and warmly executed, leaning into its storybook aesthetic with decent production design and whimsical cinematography. The acting is solid across the board without being remarkable. The central message about self-acceptance is earnest but familiar, and the novelty of the pig-nose curse concept is undercut by a fairly predictable trajectory. The ending resolves too neatly and rushes through its emotional beats, feeling more like a formula completion than a genuine payoff — the 'love yourself' conclusion arrives without sufficient dramatic weight.