This Must Be the Place (2012)

From the trailer I expected an entertaining movie and a joy of observing another great Penn's performance. And I got way way more that this.I find it hard to pinpoint what this movie is about. For me it was about loneliness and emptiness, fear and courage, feeling lost and dealing with existential questions of life, about longing for meaning, love, acceptance, acknowledgment...And what might be the most important aspect is that the story is told in a gentle, warm way that makes the viewer feel included in the relations on the screen. While at the same time offering us visually enchanting and rhythmically impressive atmosphere, that just keeps resonating in the system...An unusual movie, well worth treating your eyes, mind and heart with.

Retired aging rock star, Cheyenne, leaves his boring life for one hell of a diversion: tracking down the Nazi guard that persecuted his recently deceased father. As a result of his quest Cheyenne metamorphoses from a melancholy child-like moppet to a self-assured man.Cheyenne (Sean Penn) has kicked heroin and no longer gigs. Without his heroin Cheyenne is like a child: quiet; sensitive; speaks his mind; is thoughtful of other's feelings; is quickly apologetic. Yet, like a sage Buddha he always chooses his words wisely. Even more interesting, Cheyenne moves like an old, stiff man, but looks like his former self all decked out in red lipstick, white-powdered face makeup, heavy black eyeliner, and Johnny Thunders' mane of hair. With not much to do except shop at the local supermarket, play handball with his wife of 30 years in their empty swimming pool, play the stock market, and meddle in a young Goth girl's life, Cheyenne announces that he is depressed. His friend corrects him by telling him that he isn't depressed, he is bored and needs a diversion. And so begins Cheyenne's quest not only to find his father's nemesis, but to find himself.This Must Be the Place is a cerebral movie that puts the audience in the rafters like interns in a teaching hospital looking down on a patient being healed. So, if you prefer entertainment over enlightenment and transformation, then this is not the movie for you. Pros: Sean Penn as Cheyenne. How Cheyenne handled the Nazi Guard. All the unexpected scenes.Con: Would have liked to have seen a little backstory on Cheyenne's early years.

I admit I was put off by the retired rock star formula but eventually I got to see this film and I am so pleased I did. Sean Penn's portrayal of Cheyenne is unmissable and he is well supported by a great cast. And although the pursuit of the Nazi who persecuted Cheyenne's father is foremost in the plot summaries I have seen there is a lot more to savour in this slow revelation of a changing man. Penn makes his character unwind and grow as the film progresses. There are many ways in which revelations are made and the script is beautifully judged to get the most out of the dialogue which is, at times, wonderful, beautiful, stunning, call it what you will.And such sumptuous cinematography, such clever use of sound, such beautifully lingering moments to take our breath away. And the likely final shots of this film are never signposted and do not give way to sentimentality. We see, think and feel what the actors see, think and feel and I cannot compliment a film more highly than that. And there are so many one liners that could be quoted as favourites from a script just littered with them.This is a film that'll need some concentration on your part, not because it is hard work, but because you'll be engrossed by it. I give it nine out of ten and recommend it to all those old enough to see it.

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.