“Penelope”, a film named after its main character, tells the story of a young woman who mixes her architecture studies at the university with party nights, where she meets different men with whom she establishes fleeting relationships. A film that focuses on the construction of her main character, but also becomes her only livelihood.
The most interesting aspect of Agustín Abda’s debut film is the composition of Penélope’s character, a young woman with a cheeky face, who has no problem or hesitation in relating (to both men and women), who is open and breaks with the stereotypes of female characters in more conservative films. The role adopted by this woman makes the male characters uncomfortable on several occasions, as they believe that only they can be seen in this role of womanizers or that they can have casual relationships.
The main character is very well embodied by Cumelén Sanz, known mainly for her participation in the youth series “Violetta”. She adopts a very natural posture, without shame like her character, and takes on the challenge of being much of the film in underwear or nudity. The secondary roles accompany her well, although they do not have as much weight in terms of the story and its construction, but more than anything because of a theme of narrative decision; the axis of the story is her.
Perhaps the biggest problem with the film is that there is no definite dramatic conflict, it only seeks to show this composition of a different female character, especially in the current times. But once her role is defined, which we understand where the director’s message is heading, the rest of the scenes feel repetitive and go nowhere.
On the other hand, the resolution of the story is quite out of place. In the last five minutes the story finds a dramatic axis that had not been dealt with before and makes it seem like two different plots, it does not feel harmonious. Although, as we pointed out, the film does not have a particular thread that presents a latent conflict, this twist feels quite forced with an abrupt ending.
In short, “Penelope” works by building a strong, confident, female character without fear or prejudice of anything, but it also becomes the only support. The film lacks a definite dramatic conflict, which appears only during the resolution, making the story turn 180º in a surprisingly negative way.
