
This Must Be the Place
2011, Drama, 1h 58m
87 Reviews 5,000+ RatingsWhat to know
critics consensus
This Must Be the Place may feature too many wayward detours to satisfy some passengers, but Sean Penn's beguiling performance and Paolo Sorrentino's scenic visuals make this a road trip worth following. Read critic reviews
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Movie Info
Cast & Crew
Cheyenne
Jane
Mordecai Midler
Mary
Rachel
Robert Plath
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Critic Reviews for This Must Be the Place
All Critics (87) | Top Critics (39) | Fresh (58) | Rotten (29)
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The conceit of showing a pop-culture figure's life out of the limelight is beyond hackneyed, but the film's incongruous visual splendor and Penn's all-or-nothing commitment keep Sorrentino's unabashed folly afloat for a while.
June 28, 2013 | Full Review… -
Sorrentino's aggressively life-affirming movie has wormed its way into the hearts of a surprising number of usually sensible, discerning critics.
June 20, 2013 | Full Review… -
Penn has created a colorful tour guide, but in "This Must Be the Place," there's no there there.
November 21, 2012 | Rating: 2.5/4 | Full Review… -
Writer-director Paolo Sorrentino handles the story with surprising thoughtfulness.
November 16, 2012 | Full Review… -
Sean Penn performs another one of his amazing transmogrification acts as the rock star Cheyenne in This Must Be the Place.
November 16, 2012 | Rating: 3.5/5 | Full Review… -
The cast ... is outstanding, dragging the offbeat story through the occasional look-at-me distractions.
November 15, 2012 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…
Audience Reviews for This Must Be the Place
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May 20, 2016Inert and disappointing_kelly . Super Reviewer
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Aug 18, 2014Once, Cheyenne(Sean Penn) had been a rock star. Now, he lives retired in semi-inclusion with his firefighter wife Jane(Frances McDormand) in Dublin due to tax reasons. Then, he gets news that his father is seriously ill back in New York. At first, he intends to fly but they cannnot get the altimeter working on the airplane to his satisfaction. So, he takes a cruise ship instead. Which is a whole different level of hell altogether. So far, Paolo Sorrentino has shown a remarkable amount of visual poetry in his films so far. With "This Must Be the Place," he attempts something akin to a plot which is definitely a mixed bag due to it involving a hunt for an ancient Nazi which also allows Judd Hirsch to gnaw on scenery to his heart's content. On the other hand, the movie could be said to be in general about people who are out of sync with time, as illustrated by Sean Penn's off-kilter performance as somebody who is ultra-sensitive to the world around him. But none of that allows the movie to escape Wim Wenders' orbit, road movie division, and not just because the very welcome Harry Dean Stanton puts in an appearance, with David Byrne(who also wrote the music for the film) as the random cameo musician.Walter M Super Reviewer
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Jun 18, 2013A retired Goth pop star tracks down a Nazi who oppressed his deceased father. The script is a bit wonky, but Sean Penn has some great moments in a unique against-type role as the effeminate, tormented ex-rocker.Greg S Super Reviewer
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Jun 09, 2013Meandering and episodic 'This Must Be The Place' is Italian born Paolo Sorrento's first foray into English language cinema and the result is interesting if inconsistent. Playing out as a coming of age/road movie hybrid the story charts aged goth Cheyenne's across America is search of a nazi war criminal responsible for humiliating his father. As Cheyenne's journey progresses it becomes more strange, indulging in quirkiness at the cost of story and somewhat isolating itself from the viewer. Tonally the film is inconsistent, with moments of comedy turning into those of drama in a jarring fashion. Despite its problems the film occasionally reaches the level of intrigue it strives for and Penn's Gothic performance is oddly endearing if a little tiresome.Cameron S Super Reviewer
This Must Be The Place Quotes
Cheyenne: | My instincts tell me pedantry is an essential characteristic for capturing Nazis. |
Cheyenne: | Why is Lady Gaga? |
Cheyenne: | No, Jane, I'm not trying to find myself. I'm in New Mexico, not India. |
Rachel: | Fear always saves as. |
Cheyenne: | always. |
Cheyenne: | Always. |
Cheyenne: | But you have to choose a moment in your life, even one, to not be afraid. |
Rachel: | Have you choose that moment? |
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