Sean Penn’s new look: fierce as hell, or a tragic hot mess?

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These are maybe my favorite photos of Sean Penn ever. He’s in character as “Cheyenne” in This Must Be The Place, which is filming in Dublin. So… heads up, Irish Celebitches. Sean Penn is in town, he’s got an afro, and he’ll f-ck your sh-t up. By the way, should I even call it an “afro”? Or should I refer to it as “a hot mess that even Britney Spears would shake her head at”? Also: I love how young Sean looks here. It’s like you can put in a mangy wig and dab some red lipstick on him, and all of a sudden he’s in his 20s again. Anyway, the film also stars Frances McDormand, Harry Dean Stanton (he’s still alive?) and Bono’s daughter Eve Hewson, who for some reason has taken her mother’s maiden name…? Ah, Bono’s real name is Paul Hewson, nevermind. The concept for the film is strange too… this synopsis might be a SPOILER, so beware:

Cheyenne, a wealthy former rock star (Penn), now bored and jaded in his retirement embarks on a quest to find his father’s persecutor, an ex-Nazi war criminal now hiding out in the U.S. Learning his father is close to death, he 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 is determined to avenge. So begins a life-altering journey across the heartland of America to track down and confront his father’s nemesis.

As his quest unfolds, Cheyenne is reawakened by the people he encounters and his journey is transformed into one of reconciliation and self discovery. As his date with destiny arrives and he tracks down Muller, Cheyenne must finally decide if it is redemption he seeks ….or revenge.

Starring two time Academy Award winner Sean Penn and marking the much-anticipated English-language debut of acclaimed director Paolo Sorrentino, THIS MUST BE THE PLACE is a gripping examination of a man on the precipice of obsession.

[From IMDB]

It sounds kind of like Into The Wild, only the main character is a be-afro’d middle-aged rock star, and his spiritual cross-country journey is all about Nazis. Neat.

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Sean Penn on August 22, 2010. Credit: WENN.

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44 Responses to “Sean Penn’s new look: fierce as hell, or a tragic hot mess?”

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  1. Dorothy says:

    OMG I think he looks like shit! IMO the makeup is going right into his wrinkles and aging him . Maybe it is because I just hate him so much.

  2. SammyHammy says:

    Seems like an interesting storyline, but I’ll never see it. Penn has completely alientated me with his idiot politics and smug pseudo-intellectual attitude.

    And that has to be one of the most stupid looks I’ve ever seen. I realize he’s in costume, but OMG–how crazy scary looking he is.

  3. Katalina76 says:

    Bono’s real name is Paul Hewson, so it is in fact her last name, not her mother’s maiden name.

  4. Lisa says:

    He looks like like my Aunt Svetlana from Russia.

  5. embertine says:

    Lisa, you totally beat me to it. I was just thinking, hey, he looks just like my crazy aunt first thing in the morning.

  6. sauvage says:

    He kinda looks like Bono Vox in the second picture.

  7. Stephie says:

    Well that’s an interesting look. Thought he was in drag before clicking thru. The movie sounds interesting though.

  8. CandyKay says:

    Styling by Robert Smith of the Cure.

    Whom I believe is STILL wearing giant messy black hair and smudged red lipstick, although he must be about Penn’s age.

  9. Statler says:

    Godawful. Sounds like they were going for Bowie but somehow he ended up Bonham Carter.

  10. Shay says:

    He looks like Robert Smith from The Cure

  11. Vee says:

    He looks awful, but he is fugly inside and out without any makeup anyway. I will not see any movie he makes, I just cannot stand his politics and attitude.

  12. EMV says:

    i think i just threw up in my mouth

  13. Wicked SteppMom says:

    He *very* much looks like my grandma, about 20 years ago! I’m going to have to email this link to my mom & aunts-they’ll freak.

  14. Schnauzers!!! says:

    I’d rather have seen Robert Smith from The Cure playing this part. Can’t see past Sean Penn’s internal ugliness and hate.

  15. dread pirate cuervo says:

    Robert Smith has been doing this look better for about 35 years now.

  16. Maritza says:

    Even made up as an old lady he is ugly. The man has a harsh bitter look.

  17. poopie says:

    it’s an improvement over his normal self !!hahhahhaha!!!

  18. Stronzilla says:

    Ladies, behold, the next face of Lancome.

  19. Delta Juliet says:

    LOL
    I, too, thought he was supposed to be in drag.

  20. aenflex says:

    I’m sorry, I know there are some serious Sean haters here. Sh*t in some ways he really is a bastard. But he is a great actor, it’s hard to deny. He can play anything. Even this wo/man we see here.

  21. Just a Poster says:

    BLOODY HELL! That is the stuff that disturbs your sleep!

  22. LolaBella says:

    Tragic UGLY hot mess. LOL.

    Co-sign all of you who said Robert Smith of The Cure does it way better.

    @aenflex: ITA he’s a great actor; Mystic River is one of my favorite movies due mostly to his performance.

    With Sean, it’s just hard to separate the real life ‘bastard’ from the very talented actor he is.

  23. coup de grazia says:

    he looks like that guy from Poison

  24. Nancy says:

    ROFLMAO!!!

  25. The Bobster says:

    Not another Nazi movie. Yawn.

  26. womanfromthenorth says:

    He’s no Terence Stamp that’s for sure!
    Yee Gawd…

  27. MsLIb says:

    So…does this mean he won’t make the hot Friday guys?

  28. Tia C says:

    Is he supposed to be a transvestite rock star? What’s with the get-up? Whew! At this point Sean is several sandwiches shy of a picnic.

  29. hellen says:

    Looks like an aging tranny. And that plot synopsis – exactly the over-the-top, faux-transformational, redemption-or-revenge Oscar-bait drama that gasbag actors love.

  30. Annie says:

    20 year old SP? Really? Really? I think he looks like a 70 year old drag queen.

    Gross. Put it on my “skip” list.

  31. Rex says:

    What a mess! Won’t see the movie either – sounds like a snoozefest.

  32. Genevieve says:

    AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA! Ridiculous!

  33. zaid says:

    I though he was playing as a transvestie

  34. original kate says:

    is it a horror movie?

  35. Cinderella says:

    Robin Wright can rest well at night knowing she made the right decision.

    Egads!

  36. gg says:

    😆 @ Stronzilla!

    I can name four guys I know right now who look just like the above. They all play guitar. Although nobody would be caught dead in bright red lipstick.

  37. Heather says:

    He looks terrible and the plot of the movie is really uninteresting to me.

  38. GatsbyGal says:

    This movie sounds stuuuuuuuuupid.

  39. Ruffian9 says:

    “Looks like an aging tranny. And that plot synopsis – exactly the over-the-top, faux-transformational, redemption-or-revenge Oscar-bait drama that gasbag actors love.”

    You nailed it.

    Damn, he’s just ghastly.

  40. Diva says:

    Eeek… I’m saying tragic mess (the hot in there just sounds dated, and definitely doesn’t apply here!).

    I thought he was playing a bitter, aging transvestite.

  41. Mairead says:

    Good GOD!!! I don’t know which is worse, the styling or the plot! 😯

    So… heads up, Irish Celebitches. Sean Penn is in town, he’s got an afro, and he’ll f-ck your sh-t up.
    We knew that already, 😉 as there were photos of the Nightmare Tranny up there celebrating his 50th birthday with Bono in the Irish Independent (CB got sent the link last week).

    And I hope you didn’t think Bono was his given name! He took it from a shop in Dublin. Some people say it was a skateboarding shop, but I remember Bonovox being a hearing-aid shop (meaning ‘good voice’)off O’Connell street, up to at least 8 years ago.
    I better break it to you now Kaiser, but The Edge wasn’t christened as that either 😉

  42. chessie says:

    Young? He looks 80. And not a good 80, either.

  43. Raven says:

    This screams Tim Burton to me. Penn is a great actor, but I could see this going way wrong if the script isn’t perfect. Lots of hysteria and preachiness.

  44. trashaddict says:

    Looks like a toxic tranny. Shades of Michael Palin. Are you sure this is not a Monty Python movie???