MOVIES: "This Must Be the Place" and "The Iron Lady"

So, I've been sick this week which has kept me off my computer, but which gave me time to watch some movies. I'm better now. Not 100% but better and getting back to life. So on to the movies.

The Iron Lady with Meryl Streep and Jim Broadbent was amazing. Streep was breathtaking as Margaret Thatcher and Broadbent was touching as her husband. I think this was a very humanizing look at what Thatcher's life might have been. There is no doubt that she was a great lady and brought about major change in England, but this was a very tender and touching look at the softer side of the Iron Lady. Yet it didn't diminish her strength in any way.

Bottom line... great cast, great acting, great story, great film. If you haven't seen it - do yourself a favor and see it. Really.

This Must Be the Place was a strange film. It's about a neurotic ex-rock star who goes on a quest to hunt down his father's Nazi tormentor after his father dies. That's what the description says. I suppose if you just look at the surface, then yes, that's what it's about. But that's not what I saw. Or at least not what I took away from it.

I had to think about this one some. Digest it. Let it simmer. And a host of other cliches. The movie I watched was about love, overcoming fear and a journey to find yourself.

Cheyenne is played, brilliantly, by Sean Penn. Ex-rocker, lost soul, fearful man-child, and romantic. You see him trudging around Ireland, where he has settled, with a wheeled cart. He's afraid to drive or fly. He goes to the mall regularly to meet a young fan/friend who would be a groupie were he still performing. He wears heavy goth make-up and big hair and goes through his day in an almost zombie-like antipathy. He says what's he's thinking whether it's rude or politic. He has an affected high pitch voice and silly giggle when he's amused.

He also has a wife of thirty-five years, played brilliantly by Frances McDormand, who adores him and is an obvious grounding force for him. She's full of life and doesn't pull punches with Cheyenne, but she's also compassionate and understanding about whatever it is that has turned him into a virtual recluse.

So, for me the story is about Cheyenne finding his way back from whatever ledge he's been sitting on for decades. It's a rambling, bizarre journey that feels as lost as he is, but you do see him growing and getting strong and finding his way back to humanity.  You also see a solid relationship and a love that  we can all aspire to.

Not gonna lie, it's a weird movie. But somehow it's still resonating with me and keeping me thinking. I'd love to discuss if anyone else has seen it.

And as a side note on Sean Penn- if you haven't seen him in I Am Sam, you must. Such a great film and Sean Penn is phenomenal.