Penelope

“It's not the power of the curse - it's the power you give the curse.”

This sleeper contemporary fairy tale came and went before I realized I’d missed it. Penelope tells the story of Penelope Wilhern who is born under a disfiguring family curse which can’t be broken until someone of “her own kind" can love her. Her parents react by faking her death, raising her in secret and confined to their manor but indulging her varied interests. To end the curse they attempt to contract a marriage with any eligible blue blood and so ensues a funny romantic comedy and coming of age story. Fed up with her parents’ plots Penelope strikes out on her own making her first friends and finding herself. Witty, sweet and well acted, this was one of my favorite movies of 2008.