This Must Be The Place 2012

This Must Be the Place

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.

67%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 87

58%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 9,557

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Movie Info

At 50 years of age, former rock star Cheyenne (Sean Penn) still dresses the part and lives in Ireland off the royalties and dividends from smart investments. The death of his estranged father brings Cheyenne back to New York, where he discovers the old man had one obsession: to hunt down a Nazi war criminal (Heinz Lieven). Cheyenne decides to pick up the quest where his late father left off, and sets out at his own pace on a journey across America.

Cast & Crew

Sean Penn
Cheyenne
Frances McDormand
Jane
Judd Hirsch
Mordecai Midler
Eve Hewson
Mary
Kerry Condon
Rachel
Harry Dean Stanton
Robert Plath
Joyce Van Patten
Dorothy Shore
David Byrne
Himself
Olwen Fouéré
Mary's Mother
Shea Whigham
Ernie Ray
Paolo Sorrentino
Director
Paolo Sorrentino
Screenwriter
Umberto Contarello
Screenwriter
Nicola Giuliano
Producer
Francesca Cima
Producer
Andrea Occhipinti
Producer
Viola Prestieri
Executive Producer
Luca Bigazzi
Cinematographer
Cristiano Travaglioli
Film Editor
David Byrne
Original Music
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Critic Reviews for This Must Be The Place

All Critics (87) | Top Critics (31) | Fresh (58) | Rotten (29)

  • 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…

    Joe Williams

    St. Louis Post-Dispatch
    Top Critic

  • Writer-director Paolo Sorrentino handles the story with surprising thoughtfulness.

    November 16, 2012 | Full Review…

    Ben Sachs

    Chicago Reader
    Top Critic

  • 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…

    Marjorie Baumgarten

    Austin Chronicle
    Top Critic

  • The cast ... is outstanding, dragging the offbeat story through the occasional look-at-me distractions.

    November 15, 2012 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

    Bill Goodykoontz

    Arizona Republic
    Top Critic

  • Although "This Must Be the Place" holds our attention, it's a little difficult to say where it's headed.

    November 15, 2012 | Rating: 3.5/4 | Full Review…

    Roger Ebert

    Chicago Sun-Times
    Top Critic

  • If you give Penn (and the movie) a chance, the character works, movingly and somewhat miraculously.

    November 9, 2012 | Rating: 4/4 | Full Review…

    Michael O'Sullivan

    Washington Post
    Top Critic
View All Critic Reviews (87)

Audience Reviews for This Must Be The Place

  • May 20, 2016
    Inert and disappointing
    _kelly . Super Reviewer
  • Aug 18, 2014
    Once, 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
  • Jun 18, 2013
    A 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
  • Jun 09, 2013
    Meandering 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
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