This Must Be The Place DVD
Starring: Sean Penn, Judd Hirsch, Eve Hewson, Frances McDormand.
Director: Paolo Sorrentino
Rating: 2/5
Now I have been a fan of Sean Penn for some time and, over the years, he has delivered some knockout performances.
And with This Must Be The Place he gives another performance that you won't forget in a hurry but this is a movie that doesn't quite hit the spot.
Learning his father is close to death, Cheyenne 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 Muller - an event he was determined to avenge.
With the help of Nazi-hunter Mordecai Midler (Judd Hirsch) Cheyenne decides to pick up where his father left off, and embarks on a life-altering journey, at his own pace, into the heartland of America.
As his quest unfolds, and reawakened by the people he encounters, Cheyenne must finally decide if it's redemption he seeks or revenge.
Ok Penn does deliver a very beguiling performance of that there is no doubt - not to mention it is a much quieter role that we have seen from him in recent years.
But it is the rest of the movie that doesn't really keep up with the central performance.
The pacing on this is sooooo slow that it really does struggle to keep your attention. It takes a fair old while for the film to get going and the first half an hour doesn't really have anything to do with the actual story.
And even when Cheyenne's search for SS Officer Aloise Muller finally gets underway the movie fails to burst into life.
There is not doubt that Cheyenne is an interesting character but he is never really fully developed and he simply brought to life rather than explored.
Paolo Sorrentino has delivered some fantastic cinematography throughout this movie but the pretty backdrop will only remind you that there is nothing else really going on.
This Must Be The Place is out on DVD now
Click here to buy This Must Be The Place on DVD
Click here to buy This Must Be The Place on Blu-Ray
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
Tagged in Sean Penn