Written by: Ramin Bahrani (story) & Ramin Bahrani (writer) and Amir Naderi (writer) & Bahareh Azimi (story)
Directed by: Ramin Bahrani
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Michael Shannon, Laura Dern
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
After being evicted from his home, Dennis Nash begins working for the real estate broker that evicted him.
Verdict
99 Homes has strong performances. Michael Shannon is at his best when playing an aloof, despicable character like Rick Carver. Andrew Garfield does a good job of playing the sympathetic single father Dennis Nash who will do anything to get his house back. That includes working for and becoming an apprentice to the man that evicted him.
Do you help people or do you kick them out when they've violated the law and not paid back a loan, in essence stealing? That's the main question, though the story adds a few layers of deceit and treachery. While it goes too far in making Rick Carver cartoon evil, there are a number of intense scenes that stand out. The ending was a bit over the top, though in line with the themes of the movie. I enjoyed the story and performances.
Watch it.
Review
This movie puts a face on the people losing their homes and the ones doing the taking. The two aren't so far apart.
99 Homes grabs you from the start with Rick Carver (Michael Shannon) at a suicide crime scene, though thoroughly disinterested. He's a wheeling and dealing real estate broker. He just saw the man alive and wonders if it was the pizza toppings that led the man to commit suicide. You wonder if Carver was involved in the crime scene as he's on the phone telling an associate to cut off power and water to force someone to sell their house. He's unscrupulous, but is he a murderer?
Dennis Nash (Andrew Garfield) is a single father construction worker facing foreclosure on his childhood home that he shares with his mother (Laura Dern). The court states he has thirty days to pay the back what he owes or he loses the house. The very next day Rick Carver evicts him.
It's a dramatic scene with the music underscoring their frustration. You feel bad for Nash as he's told he is now trespassing in what he still considers his home. Just the day before he caught a break and was trying to figure out how to gather the money. He's bewildered as cops push him out the door.
Nash needs money, and he reluctantly takes a job from Carver to remove feces from a foreclosed house. The joke wasn't lost on me. Nash has hit rock bottom as he now shovels crap.
Why did Carver take Nash under his wing? I wondered if he sensed someone vulnerable and just wanted to exploit him.
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| 99 Homes - Foreclosure isn't fun for those receiving. |
When Nash delivers his first eviction, Garfield does a great job of acting tormented and torn. He's repeating what he heard when he was evicted. You wonder if he'll break down or stop. He's ashamed to admit to his family what he's doing. He's living a good life, and he can finally afford to buy his son a birthday present.
Nash has to deliver a forged document to the court to settle a foreclosure dispute. Nash wants the money, but doesn't want to sabotage a human being. Nash was upset about evicting people, but it was within legal boundaries. Now he has to cross that line.
The finale goes big instead of going home. It's easy to hate Carver. He's the e-cig smoking, Range Rover driving jerk the movie continually pushes us to hate, but we watch as Nash follows in his footsteps. Nash goes from joining the scams because he needs the money, to becoming greedy. Nash has to confront his actions in the last scene. We don't know the repercussions as it's left open. I'm willing to bet that Carver gets out of it. He's just slimy enough that I don't think anything would stick to him.
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