Overview
Writer/director Paolo Sorrentino itched to create a character based on The Cure's Robert Smith. After seeing that Smith doesn't shed his '80s goth punk gear when he leaves the stage, Sorrentino became fascinated with the idea of "a 50-year-old who still completely identified with a look which, by definition, is that of an adolescent," and all the contradictions in character it implies.
That's how we get Cheyenne (given life by Sean Penn), a former rock star who once fronted Cheyenne and the Fellows and now lives a quiet life on an Irish estate with his countervailing, down-to-earth wife (Frances McDormand). There's a little bit of Ozzy in him, too; after years taking drugs (though never booze), he moves slowly, dragging his grocery trolley behind him. He's prematurely old, but also stuck in youth. He's sweet, but petulant. He insists on living in the world the way he wants to live in it. And, yes, he still paints a red oblong over his lips and tucks his black jeans into Docs.
This Must Be the Place is a unique comedy where you laugh with someone who's slow-paced, not quick-witted, and you laugh with him. Cheyenne's sentences are a meandering journey whose end you can't envision when you're at the beginning. Or in the middle, usually. It's uniquely funny, and in a gorgeously big-hearted way. There's a couple of lines in here so hilarious and inimitable they alone are worth watching the film for.
Concrete Playground has four DVD copies of This Must Be The Place to giveaway. To go in the running, just subscribe to Concrete Playground (if you haven't already) then email your name and address to hello@concreteplayground.com.au
