This Must Be the Place

A retired rock star makes a pilgrimage to America when his father dies and tries to track down the Nazi who humiliated him.

Gothic Legend "Cheyenne" is bored with his life and, after his father passes away makes a life changing trip to the US to find out more about the man he has not spoken to in more than 30 years. He discovers that his father had a lifelong obsession with a Nazi guard who had embarrassed him at Auschwitz, but had never managed to find the man.

"Cheyenne" goes on a voyage of self discovery across the US trying to find the man who had made his father's life a misery, long after he had left the camp. During his search he manages to meet some very strange people, but also to find the happiness he has been looking for since the age of 15.

The first thing that needs to be said about this film, is that Sean Penn, gives one of the finest performances of his career in the role of, 70's Gothic Legend, "Cheyenne". Penn, whose performances in "Milk" and "Mystic River", have already won him two Academy Awards, easily matches those outings, with a performance which leaves you gasping for breath at times as he totally lives the lifestyle of an ageing rock star, trying to come to terms with his lifestyle stagnating.

Unfortunately, this is the only real highlight of the film! The script is more than a little random, throwing in scenes from absolutely left field, that leaves the audience in the dark in more than one sense. The story is hard to follow, weak in places and drags quite a bit, but generally is just strange.

Frances McDormand does well as "Jane", the long suffering wife of "Cheyenne", but should have been on screen for a lot longer. Judd Hirsch gives a fairly unconvincing showing as Nazi hunter, "Mordecai Midler", while young Eve Hewson (daughter of Bono of U2 Fame), gives a fairly decent performance as gothic follower "Mary" and may well be one to watch as her career progresses. Irish actress Kerry Condon, gives a fairly good showing as "Rachel", but sadly her role is also a small one and it would be good to see her in larger roles going forward. Keep an eye out for a lovely cameo and performance by "Talking Heads" front man David Byrne, who has lost none of his style and mystique

The film itself is flat, the script is very strange and nonsensical in places, but is saved in a fairly large part by the role played by Penn. This film is worth watching, if nothing else just for this performance. His encapsulation of the former rock star is something truly special.

6/10