Penelope is a 2006 British-American fantasy romantic comedy film directed by Mark Palansky, and starring Christina Ricci, James McAvoy, Catherine O'Hara, Peter Dinklage, Richard E. Grant and Reese Witherspoon (who also produced the film). The film tells the story of the titular Penelope Wilhern, who was born with the snout of a pig due to a curse that was placed on her family by a vengeful witch.
Plot
A servant woman, Clara, falls in love with and marries wealthy socialite, Ralph Wilhern, and would later become pregnant with his child, only to commit suicide by when the Wilerns' disapprove of their marriage. Enraged, Clara's mother, a witch, curses the next Wilhern daughter to be born with the snout of a pig; the curse may only be broken when "one of her own kind" learns to love her. For generations, only sons are born into the family, until the birth of Penelope Wilhern. Ashamed of her daughter's face, Penelope's mother, Jessica, claims Penelope died as an infant and shuts her away in their mansion. Penelope turns eighteen, her parents begin attempting to find her a potential husband, interpreting the curse's counter as the love of a man of equal social status.
Seven years go by, and all of Penelope's suitors had fled in terror upon seeing her true face, including Edward Humphrey Vanderman III. Conspiring with tabloid reporter, Lemon, to photograph Penelope, Vanderman pays young blue blood, Max Campion, to pose as a new suitor for Penelope, hiding a camera in his jacket. After having conversations through a one-way mirror, Max and Penelope develop genuine feelings for each other; however, when Max sees her face, he is shocked (but not frightened) and accidentally triggers the camera. Regretful about his attempts to exploit Penelope, Max calls off his agreement with Lemon and Vanderman (though Jessica and the matchmaker Wanda catch him doing so) and destroys the camera. Penelope begs Max to marry her, promising it will lift the curse, but he declines.
Tired of the match-making and inspired by Max's conversations about the outside world, Penelope flees home and journeys out into the city, selling photos of herself to Lemon while covering her nose with a scarf in public to keep anonymous. She is spotted by her parents and runs back to the bar she frequents before passing out, leading her friend Annie to remove the scarf and reveal her as the elusive Penelope to the other guests. Penelope becomes an overnight celebrity, gaining adoring fans who are not disgusted by her face.
Meanwhile, Edward’s father, having seen the public's fondness for Penelope and embarrassed by his son's vocal cruelty toward her, coerces Edward into proposing to her. Lemon eventually discovers that the real Max Campion is imprisoned for armed robbery; the Campion they have been working with is actually a man named Johnny Martin. Lemon relays this to Jessica and Wanda, but Jessica chooses not to let Penelope know the truth. During her wedding, Penelope realizes that she does not want to marry simply to break the curse and that she likes herself the way she is. This breaks the curse, as Penelope has been loved by "one of her own kind" – herself – and her pig snout and ears disappear.
Years later, Penelope becomes an elementary school horticulture teacher, and the public's interest in her fades. She eventually learns from Wanda the truth about Johnny. She reunites with Johnny, who is unaware that the curse was broken, at a Halloween party while wearing a mask. Johnny kisses Penelope, and she takes off her mask, revealing to him that she had the power to lift the curse all along.
The Wilhern butler, Jake, is revealed to be the witch who cast the original curse, and casts one final spell to render Jessica permanently mute before quitting his position. While Johnny and Penelope are at a park, Lemon discreetly approaches the two and attempts to take a photo to prove that Penelope's curse has been lifted, but ultimately decides against it upon seeing how happy they are, and leaves them alone.