This Must Be the Place

How refreshing it is to sit through an inspirational and yet entertaining story. If you fell in love with Sean Pen during the trailer, you will definitely be happy to know that those two hours will not disappoint you.

"This Must be the Place" brings back Penn and his wonderful talent to depict a strange character that doesn't seem to connect with the world around him. It's a delicious journey through the ups and downs of life and the numerous ways of facing them. It's about love and family, courage and determination in searching for what makes sense to you in spite of what people may think. Penn is extraordinarily funny in a simple way, unpretentiously humble and somehow adorable as a man who sees the world differently from everybody else. I had a wonderful time watching this movie, without that feeling of betrayal left by so many deceitful trailers.

This Must Be the Place (2011)

Sean Penn tries very hard in this film, taking on a role of the worn out and disturbed rock star (Cheyenne) living in isolation. His character is weirdly ambiguous—and just plain weird—somewhere between a cross-dresser, a transvestite, and a myopic hedonist. He is something like "the idiot" of literature who seems completely out of touch but also has a wisdom and aloof perspective others do not.

It sometimes works. The movie itself is filled with ambiguity, and not in an enchanting way. Since it does not charm by its aura and filmic intention (it has little of either), it should give us a better sense of what exactly is going on. Oh, you'll get the drift, and you'll pick up on the Cheyenne's regret and melancholy. And you might understand he hits the road in a bumbling search for some evil-doer geriatric Nazi (I'm serious) that no other person is better qualified to pursue.

Well, any movie that pushes into its own sphere with some enthusiasm is worth watching, to me. I'm glad I did. But I can use my experience to warn a viewer that it's a personal calling here. Penn alone is reason to either hate or like the film, his overacting reminding me mostly that there are people who are really like this character who would have done much better. Instead we feel him acting all the time. It should be said that some of the other actors are forced to push their performances, too.

One curious aspect to the film I loved was all the versions of the one song in the film, "Home" or "This Must Be the Place" by the Talking Heads (and performed by all kinds of people including David Byrne himself in a small, very tacked-on cameo). Some of the versions are so different you might not even catch that it's the same song again. Listen.

So what's the point of all this angst and campy sadness? I think it's about the rediscovery of this Cheyenne's self. His real self, a person with normal qualities. He succeeds by breaking out of his self-imposed hermetic world and in a way it's a warm and almost terrific experience. For him and for the viewer. But for all its intentions it felt forced to me. There wasn't enough supporting material, not enough ambiance, and not enough character development (oddly enough, since it's all about Cheyenne's character). There is so much time spent on superficial aspects we never really get into the depths that might be here. Maybe.

I want to think of this as a 10 star dream with a 4 star soul. That makes 7, I guess. But it feels less satisfying than that for me, and I'm thinking you'll know by now whether you might give this a tentative whirl.

It's very difficult to get a handle on Sean Penn's aging rocker character. One thinks he has fried his brain. He speaks and acts slower than anyone I have ever seen. He looks the same as he did in the 80s, including makeup, but has lost interest in his music.

Cheyenne (Penn) is married to Jane (Frances McDormand). They have been together for 35 years. Not only is this the opposite of what one would expect of a rock star, but she works as a firefighter. No, they are not broke, it's just what she does.

The two of them are surrounded by some interesting characters in a film that moves at a snail's pace.

You never really know where it is going, but at the end you realize that it was good for Cheyenne to get out of his world and grow up.

If you come up with a complicated and quirky plot, there is almost no way to avoid people accusing you of trying too hard to be "indie." The core of this plot is a good one, although it's hampered by throwing too many ingredients in the soup. Hence, like other reviewers, I too will accuse the makers of trying a bit too hard. But I appreciate the originality of the plot.

I've noticed that most small films tend to focus on depressed or outsider type people. I'm guessing that's because the people who make them are that way. But it would be nice once in a while to see a small film about essentially happy people growing in some way, or overcoming an obstacle.

If you took a bunch of drugs, you haven't worked in 20 years, you live in a dreary place, and you're going through a midlife crisis, you would move and talk slowly and perhaps softly. Also, if you were a cross dresser, you might speak with an effeminate voice. So i get all that. But the mumbling aspect was a bit much. Unless you want to interpret that a guy who made millions from his voice, is now crippled in the voice. The mumbling was my biggest complaint. Even if he had cranked it up a tiny notch, I would have been satisfied.

I think the sex scene was put in there specifically to justify why a woman would stay with such a loser for so long. Make no mistake about it. This guy is a loser. His awareness of that fact is the main source of his depression.

What I liked about the plot was the idea of needing a purpose or mission to get yourself out of a funk or grow up. But having his dad be American and orthodox Jewish is a shock to the system. There were no previous references to his even being American, and none about growing up as an orthodox Jew. Wouldn't you see some vestiges of Jewishness at his house, or in his mannerisms or conversation?

As other reviewers mentioned, it was clear that he had no real interest in the Holocaust or his dad's history. He just felt remorse at not giving his father a chance. Couple that with needing a purpose and you have his mission.

Most of the people he interacted with in small town America were not random. They were family members of the Nazi he was hunting or knew something about him. But we did get a little slice of American life in the process. Although here's a tip to non-American indie film enthusiasts. Not all Americans are quirky. Many just work, live, love, pray, volunteer, serve, and laugh.

This guy was always about depression and regrets, but never about rage. So it's no surprise that he had no rage for the Nazi. Another person might have, because although the humiliation he caused his father was relatively mild, he was still involved with slaughter.

I'm OK with the subplots about the woman with a missing son and the Gothic teen. It makes sense. The girl was the type he would have hung out with in his own teens and he was basically stuck at that stage of life. Meanwhile the woman's son apparently skipped town the way our main character had years ago.

I love the Talking Heads song. So I certainly appreciate the idea of building a story around it. "Home, this must be the place." You could say that our protagonist was searching for a home in this world his whole life.

Premises are interesting. I would always watch a movie about/focused on the life of a retired/depressed rock star, factual or fictional... And indeed, Penn delivers a somewhat convincing performance as (Robert Smith-inspired?) Cheyenne (poor choice of pseudonym, if you ask me, but hey, there's also a band called "The Pieces of Sh*t", so)...

The problem is: that annoying voice!, and... Well, everything else. This is a pretty boring film, overall. Frances wasn't convincing, nor was anybody else besides Sean.

Sure, there are funny parts, but they're not enough to prevent the yawns, or fight the desire of doing something else during most part of it.

My 5/10 is strictly because of Penn's genius, indeed one hell of an actor, but he deserved a better script and a better... Well, everything.

Honorable mention to the David Byrne/Will Oldham teaming up to perform a satisfying soundtrack, especially the main track "Lay & Love", excellent in my opinion.