Sean Penn is simply astonishing here, playing Cheyenne, a retired , reclusive and oddball rock star (think of Robert Smith from The Cure, crossed with Michael Jackson, replete with the perfectly rendered, high- pitched voice) living just outside Dublin. His father's serious illness forces Cheyenne reluctantly back to America, and onwards to an unusual, offbeat cross-country road trip, in search of someone and something of purpose in his stalled life. This Must Be the Place has a picaresque feel, studded with idiosyncratic encounters, powerful vignettes and wonderful cameos (including one from David Byrne, who also co-wrote the wonderful eclectic roots-and-rock soundtrack). Pleasantly echoing movies like Paris, Texas and True Stories, This Must Be the Place also benefits from a sharp, confident script full of warmth, smart dialogue and, occasionally, laugh-out-loud humour. After a series of impressive Italian films, including the critically lauded Il Divo, director Paolo Sorrentino expands his global horizons to impressive effect with this, his first English-language film, stylishly shot in Ireland and the USA.

Adrian Wootton

One of Sight & Sound's 30 Festival recommendations - read more