This Must Be the Place (2011)

This week, we make a triumphant return to the mailbag, taking a listener request to discuss Paolo Sorrentino's ponderous arthouse quirk-fest This Must Be the Place! Consequence of Sound film editor Dominick Suzanne-Mayer joins us in this exploration of one of Sean Penn's stranger performances, as a washed-up Robert Smith-type rock star who returns to America to hunt the escaped Nazi who tortured his father during the Holocaust. Like a lot of Sorrentino joints (see also: The Great Beauty), This Must Be the Place dabbles in complicated themes of aging, legacy, and the emptiness of excess and fame - unfortunately, it's saddled in an atonal, sluggish script that doesn't know when to laugh at itself or take itself seriously. We throw on our red lipstick and Tim Burton wigs to deep dive into this relic of late-aughts navel-gazing indie cinema, so take a listen and check out our custom cocktail and drinking game! (Thanks to our sponsor Backblaze as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)