SummaryCheyenne is a former rock star. At 50, he still dresses 'Goth' and lives in Dublin off his royalties. The death of his father, with whom he wasn't on speaking terms, brings him back to New York. He discovers his father had an obsession: to seek revenge for a humiliation he had suffered. Cheyenne decides to pick up where his father left off, and s... Read More
Directed By:Paolo Sorrentino
Written By:Paolo Sorrentino, Umberto Contarello
This Must Be the Place
Metascore
Generally Favorable
61
User score
Generally Favorable
6.9
My Score
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Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
61
55% Positive
16 Reviews
16 Reviews
31% Mixed
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
14% Negative
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
Nov 12, 2012
100
Sean Penn makes a striking screen presence in This Must Be the Place, a smart, funny and original road movie by Italian director Paolo Sorrentino ("Il Divo").
Nov 15, 2012
80
It's hard to imagine sitting through the film without Penn in the role of Cheyenne. But there he is, in all his intense, bizarre glory, almost daring us to come along for the ride and rewarding us with a compelling trip when we accept.
User score
Generally Favorable
6.9
70% Positive
40 Ratings
40 Ratings
18% Mixed
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
12% Negative
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
Nov 22, 2021
8
This is a very quirky film, with an oddball as the main character (known as Cheyenne). He is very guarded and quiet, as unlikely as that may seem given his outwardly extrovert appearance but I liked how he seemed to open up, slowly, to particular people. When he talks, he has an almost spooky or ghoulish muted tone to his voice, which of course is in contrast, as I say, to his goth rock look. He is quite philosophical in the way he views situations he comes across, everyday or not. There is some very poignant dialogue and I loved the cinematography present, with some beautiful sunset shots. Music wise, there is quite nomadic/quiet (low tempo) folk type music played in the background at times. It'd be fair to say that Sean Penn has played some quite challenging characters in his career to date and this is very much one of them - most certainly not your overly represented average joe type persona. Of course thats no bad thing and I commend him for playing different roles. To start with, this seemed, if anything, too bizarre a film, with no obvious/clear plot direction and I couldn't help but wonder what the point was in what I was watching but as Cheyenne starts to uncover truths and embarks on his journey, it became more decidedly more meaningful. Its not the sort of film thats especially easy to understand/'get' entirely but I certainly enjoyed aspects of it and I feel it was a very quirky and arty film that is worth a watch. I admired it, even though its not at all perfect as such, its certainly a solid and different kind of a film - one I'd recommend.
Nov 14, 2012
78
Mixing faded rock glory with Nazi-hunting and American road-tripping creates an odd hybrid that is completely transfixing, although some viewers are likely to find this film an awkward mishmash. The drama, however, is consistently offset by comic underpinnings, which are well-played by the actors and seamlessly presented by Sorrentino.
Oct 27, 2012
70
This Must Be the Place is dazzling to behold, not least when our hero leaves Ireland. [29 Oct. & 5 Nov. 2012, p.128]
Oct 27, 2012
60
Determinedly quirky and cool, arresting and ultimately too baffling to be satisfying, although Penn is priceless. Cultdom beckons.
Nov 1, 2012
42
Sorrentino's very title suggests someone who doesn't have the most well-defined sense of where they ultimately want to wind up; as goes the Talking Heads song, so goes the movie.
Nov 1, 2012
20
As juxtapositions go, regressed Goth rock star and Holocaust could hardly be more bizarre, and bizarre can be good when it's done deftly. In this case, however, it's done ponderously and sententiously.
Sep 6, 2017
8
This Must Be The Place, is a film that exudes warmth, is a peculiar, hilarious and touching film carried out by a transformative Sean Penn, which is how I like to see him the most.
It is true that the film can be disconcerting, but if you give it the opportunity you will enjoy it.
May 26, 2013
6
I think Sorrentino would not have pulled this one off without the involvement of Sean Penn who yet again diversifies his repertoire and like a chameleon he just blends in. Yes it is slow and long, but there is also a fine soundtrack and plenty of food of thought weaved into the storyline.
Apr 13, 2013
4
This film was created solely to test those who rate films. If you gave it more than a 5 (out of 10) then you are too dumb to rate movies. There is nothing going on here. It is a waste of talent and should never have been green-lighted.
Dec 29, 2012
3
Just a mess. This film feels like it was written by a class of stoned film students. Ideas are thrown together seemingly at random. The first part is set in Dublin, with Sean Penn playing Robert Smith. Penn delivers all his lines as though he is watching a really good TV show and is very, very tired. That is ok for the first 10 minutes. France's McDormand doesn't even have to try to steal every scene, and the film gets worse when Penn and we leave her in Ireland and go to America. There's a road journey to Texas, which has no point, a quest which has something to do wight the holocaust (rather insultingly) and wasted cameos by David Byrne and Harry Dean Stanton. None of the characters are there for any reason other than to contribute to banal, disjointed scenes which become quite boring. One example - Penn drives through a puddle and drenches a uniformed marching band. He gets out and says he is sorry, although they should know he did it on purpose. This is the kind of scene that must seem like fun when you are high and desperate to come up with something, but when you string dozens of these scenes together, it's alienating, pointless, and a waste of the talent available.
Mar 9, 2015
0
This is one of those movies that totally flat-lined for me. I watched it only because a friend liked and recommended it. However, I had serious doubts about it, after having read the synopsis and seen a photo of Sean Penn in drags. I am not a Penn fan, although I would not rule out a movie just because he is in it. In this particular movie, I really disliked him for lots of reasons: the exasperating monotone of his speech; the phoniness of all his “conversations”; the weird and yet dull interaction with the many bizarre characters populating the movie, etc… The word “boring” is used quite often when we explain why we did not like a movie. Basically, we did not feel emotionally or intellectually engaged by the story unfolding onscreen. Nothing works against this type of disengagement. No rational explanation will convince you about the deep, inner meaning the director, scriptwriter, actors and other reviewers saw or tried to instill into the story. Therefore, for me this is the ultimate boring movie. A plot so thin I lost track of it after 10 minutes, totally disengaging and disengaged characters, far too much artsy Penn. I gave up, 1 hour and 6 minutes into it and I am not even sure why I lasted that long. By then, I still had no clue about what was going on and I definitely stopped caring even earlier …..
Production Company:
- Indigo Film
- Lucky Red
- Medusa Film
- ARP Sélection
- France 2 Cinéma
- Element Pictures
- Bord Scannán na hÉireann / The Irish Film Board
- MEDIA Programme of the European Union
- Eurimages
- Section 481
- Sky
- Canal+
- CinéCinéma
- France Télévisions
- Intesa San Paolo
- Pathé
Release Date:Nov 2, 2012
Duration:1 h 58 m
Rating:R
Tagline:Never for money Always for love
Awards
David di Donatello Awards
• 6 Wins & 12 Nominations
Golden Ciak Awards
• 3 Wins & 7 Nominations
Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists
• 3 Wins & 5 Nominations
