This Must Be the Place Reviews

Since I have always been a huge fan of Sean Penn, I was really eager to check this flick. Well, to be honest, as usual with Paolo Sorrentino, it was a rather tricky movie. Basically, the whole concept was about an old retired popstar who goes back to the USA to chase some Nazi and that was obviously some seriously far-out material. Sure, even though it didn't completely wander into major mindf*ck territory like a David Lynch movie, it still came close though. Maybe mindf*ck might not be the right word, maybe the whole thing just felt too random for me. Anyway, if Sorrentino's movies are often difficult to grasp, at least to me, there are still great to look at, there is always something really artistic about them  and I just love the way he sets up and shoots his scenes. Furthermore,  Sean Penn gave here another really impressive performance showing that he was, at least at the time, one of the most gifted actors around. Playing some kind of combination of Robert Smith and Ozzy Osbourne, it was a rather complex character but, thanks to Penn, he didn't feel like a caricature and he pretty much disappeared into this character. To be honest, I think I would have found the whole thing more interesting if they would have focused more on how a retired popstar goes on with their life when they don't have any work, challenges or goals to achieve instead of this really wild goose chase but there was still something quite mesmerizing about the damned thing. Anyway, to conclude, even though it didn't completely work for me, it was still a decent watch and I think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Paolo Sorrentino's or in Sean Penn's work.