This Must Be the Place

Daniel calls Claudette from California in 2010. She’s concerned about him because he never made it to his family’s house in New York and only sent a cryptic text to his sisters. He explains that he wanted to see his kids, he succeeded, and it was wonderful. He thinks of Phoebe and Niall, and the narrative jumps to the future, indicating that he and Phoebe will have a deeper relationship until she dies of gun violence several years later.

In the present day, Claudette asks why Daniel didn’t tell her or give the family more information and says that she’s worried he’s seeing another woman. He apologizes and reassures her, and then he asks if she minds if he takes a couple extra days to visit a friend, Todd, in Sussex. She’s confused, worried, and irritated but gives him permission.

Claudette is interviewed with Timou Lindstrom in their shared New York City apartment in 1993, but she soon retreats to hide in the bathroom. Timou comes in and seductively coaxes her to rejoin them in the living room.

Claudette feels trapped sitting in the living room with Timou and the interviewer. While Timou discusses his approach to filmmaking, Claudette lets her mind wander, settling on the cubby that she created for their assistant—a Canadian woman who quit suddenly, leaving only a note.