This Must Be the Place

I really enjoyed this movie. It’s slow moving and character driven with a brilliant performance by Shawn Penn, as the aging, ex-rock star, Cheyenne, living in self-imposed exile in Ireland after a tragedy. Penn/Cheyenne reminded me of a sad rock version of Michael Jackson with a high pitched, squeaky voice and the child like naivety of a man who hasn’t grown up. But underneath that is a man who feels things very deeply and is an astute judge of character. He spends his time in Ireland dragging a shopping trolley-bag around the local supermarket and shopping centre in full makeup, to the amusement of the locals, occasionally meeting with the 1 or 2 friends he has, dealing in shares (in Tesco, which was funny for a Brit), and living with his firefighter wife, who is played by the always great Frances McDormand.
The film is split into 2, with the first part spent in Ireland where we follow Cheyenne through his sad existence, but on hearing of his estranged father’s impending death, the 2nd part takes place in the US where, against all odds, Cheyenne decides to take on his father’s life long task of tracking down the Nazi who tormented his father in a concentration camp. Here he goes on a kind of odyssey across America (dragging a trolley suitcase) in search of this man, meeting and befriending the strangest of people, each one getting him closer to his target.
A cameo appearance by David Byrne, who performs This Must Be The Place, is great and the time spent with the Nazi’s granddaughter is very touching, but Judd Hirsch’s professional Nazi hunter, is best and funniest of the characters he meets. Cheyenne impresses and annoys him in equal measure.
When I started writing this, I was going to give the film 4 stars, but the more I think about it, the more it grows on me. 5-stars!

Virkelig sjov og god. Sean Penn spiller overbevisende med en tør humor og en eftertænksom visdom

Var inde at se den i fredags i Park Bio, og må indrømme.. Filmen er ikke det værd. Hvis i forventer at se Sean Penn i det som godt kunne ligne et Oscar-forsøg, så bliv hjemme og se Mystic River.. Eller Milk for den sags skyld. Filmen skuffede mig meget, og det var altså ikke fordi jeg forventede en blockbuster - den er bare ikke særlig god, og man står tilbage med et indtryk af, at den film egentlig var ligegyldig.

Skuespillere:
Sean Penn, Frances McDormand, Emile Hirsch

Emile Hirsch er ikke med i denne film.. Tilgengæld er Judd Hirsch..

Emile Hirsch og Sean Penn spillede dog sammen i Milk...

Så traileren i går - og det ligner en must-see med Sean Penn i absolut topform.