Curapedi
I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.
Bob
This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
Brooklynn
There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.
Tweetienator
Sean Penn plays superb a Robert Smith-like ex-rockstar who suffers of depression (or is it just boredom!?) after the life on stage is just a weak echo in his mind but the use of make-up and lipstick etc. is still the daily ritual. The movie itself is filled with many fine little stories, weird dialogues and pictures of almost surreal quality.A good watch - if you like such kind of movies on the more storytelling and weird side of the movie cosmos.
sol-
Depressed that his music motivated two teenagers to commit suicide, a former rock star finds a reason to live again after discovering that his recently deceased father hunted Nazi war criminals in this odd comedy-drama blend starring Sean Penn. The movie certainly sounds intriguing enough as Penn decides to carry on his father's quest, however, over a third of the film elapses before it reaches this point and then the pre-hunt scenes end up resonating more than the hunt ones. Penn's lifestyle is fascinating - residing in a mansion with a firefighter wife and a surrogate daughter in the former of a young fan (Eve Hewson) who he tries to play matchmaker for - and all the while long, Penn dons his stage makeup and speaks softly in near monotone. While they come with little narrative drive, it is nevertheless disappointing when these elements get pushed to the backdrop for Penn to continue his dad's quest. We never really learn how Hewson and Penn met, and the extent of their relationship (Penn potently verbalises a regret that he never had children of his own at one point). Nor do we learn how he came to meet his wife who seems entirely unlike him. Whatever the case, the film is very much propelled by Penn's performance. Always wearing full makeup, it initially comes off as a gimmicky performance, however, Penn manages to still let us see his character's soul beneath the razzle dazzle. There is an especially interesting sequence where he meets a former history teacher who has forgotten him, just like he has almost forgotten his old self beneath the makeup.
dierregi
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 on screen. 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 …..
secondtake
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.
