Penelope

One wouldn’t have imagined that a film featuring Christina Ricci as a woman cursed with the snout of a pig would rank as one of the most interesting and flat-out entertaining films to play at this year’s festival, but there you have it. An unabashed fairy tale from the word go, Penelope stars Ricci as the title character – a young woman whose porcine features have keep her a prisoner in her own home (a decision that’s courtesy of her mom and dad, played by Catherine O’Hara and Richard E. Grant). After suffering through an endless parade of would-be suitors, Penelope finally tires of her shielded lifestyle and surreptitiously heads out into the world (resulting in several very funny fish-out-of-water episodes, including an encounter with a pair of harmless joggers). Penelope has been beautifully directed by first-time filmmaker Mark Palansky, who does a superb job of infusing the proceedings with a bright, thoroughly vivid sense of style that ensures the film is always compelling on a purely visual level. But really, it’s Ricci who deserves most of the credit for the film’s success; the actress deftly sheds her sardonic persona and completely becomes this innocent, utterly personable figure. It’s consequently very difficult not to root for Penelope through her many misadventures over the film’s running time. And as uniformly strong as the supporting cast is, it’s Peter Dinklage – playing a one-eyed photographer with a grudge – who deftly steals every one of his scenes and proves once again that he’s one of the most charismatic and talented performers of his generation.

***1/2 out of ****