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This Must Be the Place

  • 20112011
  • RR
  • 1h 58m
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
35K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Sean Penn in This Must Be the Place (2011)
Cheyenne, a retired rock star living off his royalties in Dublin, returns to New York City to find the man responsible for a humiliation suffered by his recently deceased father during WWII.
Play trailer2:08
3 Videos
99+ Photos
  • Adventure
  • Comedy
  • Drama

Cheyenne, a retired rock star living off his royalties in Dublin, returns to New York City to find the man responsible for a humiliation suffered by his recently deceased father during W.W.I... Read allCheyenne, a retired rock star living off his royalties in Dublin, returns to New York City to find the man responsible for a humiliation suffered by his recently deceased father during W.W.II.Cheyenne, a retired rock star living off his royalties in Dublin, returns to New York City to find the man responsible for a humiliation suffered by his recently deceased father during W.W.II.

IMDb RATING
6.7/10
35K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Paolo Sorrentino
  • Writers
    • Paolo Sorrentino(screenplay)
    • Umberto Contarello(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Sean Penn
    • Frances McDormand
    • Judd Hirsch
Top credits
  • Director
    • Paolo Sorrentino
  • Writers
    • Paolo Sorrentino(screenplay)
    • Umberto Contarello(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Sean Penn
    • Frances McDormand
    • Judd Hirsch
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 96User reviews
    • 205Critic reviews
    • 61Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 19 wins & 17 nominations

    Videos3

    U.S. Version -- #1
    Trailer 2:08
    U.S. Version -- #1
    U.K. Version
    Trailer 2:33
    U.K. Version
    "Mick Jagger Sang with Me"
    Clip 1:09
    "Mick Jagger Sang with Me"

    Photos120

    Sean Penn in This Must Be the Place (2011)
    Frances McDormand and Sean Penn in This Must Be the Place (2011)
    Frances McDormand and Sean Penn in This Must Be the Place (2011)
    Eve Hewson in This Must Be the Place (2011)
    Sean Penn in This Must Be the Place (2011)
    David Byrne in This Must Be the Place (2011)
    Sean Penn in This Must Be the Place (2011)
    Frances McDormand in This Must Be the Place (2011)
    Sean Penn in This Must Be the Place (2011)
    David Byrne in This Must Be the Place (2011)
    Sean Penn and Eve Hewson in This Must Be the Place (2011)
    Sean Penn in This Must Be the Place (2011)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Sean Penn
    Sean Penn
    • Cheyenneas Cheyenne
    Frances McDormand
    Frances McDormand
    • Janeas Jane
    Judd Hirsch
    Judd Hirsch
    • Mordecai Midleras Mordecai Midler
    Eve Hewson
    Eve Hewson
    • Maryas Mary
    Olwen Fouéré
    Olwen Fouéré
    • Mary's Motheras Mary's Mother
    Johnny Ward
    Johnny Ward
    • Stevenas Steven
    Sam Keeley
    Sam Keeley
    • Desmondas Desmond
    Danielle O'Brien
    • Supermarket Girl #1as Supermarket Girl #1
    Margaret O'Reilly
    • Supermarket Girl #2as Supermarket Girl #2
    Mairin O'Donovan
    • Old Lady in Bankas Old Lady in Bank
    Simon Delaney
    Simon Delaney
    • Jeffreyas Jeffrey
    Jer O'Leary
    Jer O'Leary
    • Old Man in Cemetaryas Old Man in Cemetary
    Master Deng
    • Chinese Tai Chi Teacheras Chinese Tai Chi Teacher
    Jane Myers
    • Jeffrey's Girlfriendas Jeffrey's Girlfriend
    Heather Fedyk
    • Elevator Woman #1as Elevator Woman #1
    Iris Frank
    • Elevator Woman #2as Elevator Woman #2
    Andrea Mellos
    • Elevator Woman #3as Elevator Woman #3
    Sarab Kamoo
    Sarab Kamoo
    • Elevator Woman #4as Elevator Woman #4
    • (as Sara Kamoo)
    • Director
      • Paolo Sorrentino
    • Writers
      • Paolo Sorrentino(screenplay) (story)
      • Umberto Contarello(screenplay)
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit
    Cheyenne, a wealthy former rock star (Penn), now bored and jaded in his retirement embarks on a quest to find his father's persecutor, an ex-Nazi war criminal now hiding out in the U.S. Learning his father is close to death, he travels to New York in the hope of being reconciled with him during his final hours, only to arrive too late. Having been estranged for over 30 years, it is only now in death that he learns the true extent of his father's humiliation in Auschwitz at the hands of former SS Officer Aloise Lange - an event he is determined to avenge. So begins a life-altering journey across the heartland of America to track down and confront his father's nemesis. As his quest unfolds, Cheyenne is reawakened by the people he encounters and his journey is transformed into one of reconciliation and self discovery. As his date with destiny arrives and he tracks down Lange, Cheyenne must finally decide if it is redemption he seeks ....or revenge. Starring two time Academy Award winner Sean Penn and marking the much-anticipated English-language debut of acclaimed director Paolo Sorrentino, THIS MUST BE THE PLACE is a gripping examination of a man on the precipice of obsession. —Anonymous
    • batman character
    • post punk
    • humiliation
    • rock
    • rock star
    • 50 more
    • Plot summary
    • Plot synopsis
    • Taglines
      • Never for money Always for love
    • Genres
      • Adventure
      • Comedy
      • Drama
    • Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
      • Rated R for language, some sexual content and brief disturbing images
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      When Cheyenne is talking with David Byrne, he reveals he lives tortured by the suicide of two teens who were fans of him. This is a recreation of a real-life incident that happened in 1985 in Reno, where two young ones called Raymond Belknap and James Vance made a suicide pact after listening to Judas Priest's songs.
    • Goofs
      Cheyenne refers to the band as "The Talking Heads". David Byrne and group went so far as to name an album "The Name of This Band is Talking Heads" to help people drop the "the".
    • Quotes

      Rachel: No shit! Now I remember you. You sang with Mick Jagger once.

      Cheyenne: I know him. He's a good singer, I like the way he dances.

      Rachel: Listen your cheeseburger is a bit too well done. You don't mind do ya? Unfortunately, that's life!

      Cheyenne: You know what the problem is... Rachel?

      Rachel: What?

      Cheyenne: Without realizing it, we go from an age where we say: "My life will be that" to an age where we say: "That's life."

    • Alternate versions
      The international version is approximately 7-minute shorter than the version screened at the Cannes Film Festival and released in Italy.
    • Connections
      Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Sean Penn Performances (2013)
    • Soundtracks
      This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)
      Written by David Byrne (as D. Byrne), Tina Weymouth (as T. Weymouth), Jerry Harrison (as J. Harrison), Chris Frantz (as C. Franz)

      Performed by David Byrne

      (c) Warner Bros. Music Inc. / Index Music Inc.

      Licensed by Warner Bros. Music Italy S.r.l.

    User reviews96

    Review
    Top review
    5/10
    Not even the genius of Sean Penn could save this one...
    Premises are interesting. I would always watch a movie about/focused on the life of a retired/depressed rock star, factual or fictional... And indeed, Penn delivers a somewhat convincing performance as (Robert Smith-inspired?) Cheyenne (poor choice of pseudonym, if you ask me, but hey, there's also a band called "The Pieces of Sh*t", so)...

    The problem is: that annoying voice!, and... Well, everything else. This is a pretty boring film, overall. Frances wasn't convincing, nor was anybody else besides Sean.

    Sure, there are funny parts, but they're not enough to prevent the yawns, or fight the desire of doing something else during most part of it.

    My 5/10 is strictly because of Penn's genius, indeed one hell of an actor, but he deserved a better script and a better... Well, everything.

    Honorable mention to the David Byrne/Will Oldham teaming up to perform a satisfying soundtrack, especially the main track "Lay & Love", excellent in my opinion.
    helpful•10
    1
    • nhborges
    • Mar 12, 2017

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 24, 2011 (France)
    • Countries of origin
      • Italy
      • France
      • Ireland
    • Languages
      • English
      • Hebrew
    • Also known as
      • Este debe ser el lugar
    • Filming locations
      • Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland
    • Production companies
      • Indigo Film
      • Lucky Red
      • Medusa Film
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • €25,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $143,979
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $7,754
      • Nov 4, 2012
    • Gross worldwide
      • $11,928,909
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 58 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
      • Datasat
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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    Paolo Sorrentino Receives Zurich Award, Talks Scorsese, Maradona, ‘Beautiful’ Sean Penn
    Oct 1Variety Film + TV
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    Sep 10The Film Stage

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