Good concept, poorly executed.

Best movie ever!

The acting in this movie is really good.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Rarely have I seen a movie so consistently inept. How do you even take Sean Penn, France McDormand, a David Byrne soundtrack, Robert Smith styling, and make it all suck? I love all of the above and detested the movie enough to wonder how anybody signed on for it.Disclosure here that I have no familiarity with the director and have not seen his previous works. So that I do not comprehend what he was trying to accomplish with this stilting disjointed film. But even the premise of the film is of negligible interest to me. This was simply on TV, and so I watched it, thinking how bad could a movie with Sean Penn and Frances McDormand get? Although with the plot synopsis I had forewarning it wasn't my type of film.This would appear to be the type of weird work that foreshadows that even the most accomplished actors make mistakes, get involved in films they probably shouldn't, and get swayed by something in order to be part of the project.I'm trying to fathom any portion of this film that is redeeming or that makes it worth watching. Very rarely would I state this, I want my 2hrs back.

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.

Greetings from Lituania."This Must Be the Place" (2011) is the kind of movie where you simply watch without following or taking the plot very seriously, although it touches some very serious themes like holocaust. Sean Penn gives a superb and unusual performance. This man could act anything, seriously, he's is brilliant. Other performances are OK, but basically we don't see them much as this is Sean Penn tour de force in this road movie while trying to bond with himself.This picture features superb song and full performance by Talking Heads and their song "This must be the place", which is superbly performed at the end by singer Gloria - great song, great voice - sounds very positive and created this special mood at the end of the movie.Overall, "This must be the place" has some pacing issued in the middle section, movie is a bit long, at 2 hours it drags a bit, and that just because it's plot isn't really focused. The main character visits many places and find many people, which distracts from main plot. But "This must be the place" has very good things, that finally makes this a good movie, definitely worth seeing.

Retired aging rock star, Cheyenne, leaves his boring life for one hell of a diversion: tracking down the Nazi guard that persecuted his recently deceased father. As a result of his quest Cheyenne metamorphoses from a melancholy child-like moppet to a self-assured man.Cheyenne (Sean Penn) has kicked heroin and no longer gigs. Without his heroin Cheyenne is like a child: quiet; sensitive; speaks his mind; is thoughtful of other's feelings; is quickly apologetic. Yet, like a sage Buddha he always chooses his words wisely. Even more interesting, Cheyenne moves like an old, stiff man, but looks like his former self all decked out in red lipstick, white-powdered face makeup, heavy black eyeliner, and Johnny Thunders' mane of hair. With not much to do except shop at the local supermarket, play handball with his wife of 30 years in their empty swimming pool, play the stock market, and meddle in a young Goth girl's life, Cheyenne announces that he is depressed. His friend corrects him by telling him that he isn't depressed, he is bored and needs a diversion. And so begins Cheyenne's quest not only to find his father's nemesis, but to find himself.This Must Be the Place is a cerebral movie that puts the audience in the rafters like interns in a teaching hospital looking down on a patient being healed. So, if you prefer entertainment over enlightenment and transformation, then this is not the movie for you. Pros: Sean Penn as Cheyenne. How Cheyenne handled the Nazi Guard. All the unexpected scenes.Con: Would have liked to have seen a little backstory on Cheyenne's early years.