99 Homes

Starring: Andrew Garfield, Michael Shannon, and Laura Dern
Directed by: Ramin Bahrani
Screenplay by: Ramin Bahrani and Amir Naderi

     I thought real estate was about putting people into homes, not evicting people from their homes.  But I guess that's the ugly side of real estate.  So, here is the ugly side of the business presented by 99 Homes.
     Dennis Nash (Andrew Garfield) is a construction worker who struggles to find work in the wake of the recent financial and housing crises.  He lives with his mother, Lynn (Laura Dern), and his son, Connor (Noah Lomax).  Lynn works as a hairstylist out of their house.  Their combined income is all they have to live on and send Connor to school on, which isn't much.  Unfortunately, they are in danger of being evicted from their house.
     Eviction day comes earlier than they were expected, and it's at the hands of Rick Carver (Michael Shannon), a wealthy realtor who has made most of his money evicting people from their homes since the recession.  Nash, a hard worker, can't do anything about it.  He has difficulty finding work, especially after getting thrown out of their house.  Fortunately for Nash, Carver is willing to help out a little bit by allowing Nash to work on his eviction crew.  It's nasty work, evicting people and throwing all their possessions out onto the street, but it brings in some much needed cash for him.  All he wants is to get his family back into his house and all Carver wants is to put as many homes that are being foreclosed onto the market as possible; and Nash is just the man who is going to help.  So, will Nash be able to put his family back into their house?
     This is a story that sadly, too many Americans and their families are familiar with in this day in age.  It calls into question an interesting idea however; if one can't pay his or her mortgage on their house, is he or she stealing from the bank?  If you're the homeowner, you probably don't see it that way, but if you're the bank, likely you do.  The film shows excellently the hardships of being evicted, especially so suddenly, like with what happens to the Nash family.
     It's a high intensity and fast paced film.  In fact, it's one of the most thrilling films I've seen all year so far.  It's suspenseful, insightful, and it doesn't bore you for even a moment.  Blink, and you'll miss something.  There's a lot of montage in this film however.  It is good because it shows just how many homes Carver goes through in a short period of time, like say one week.
     Nash and Carver develop an interesting relationship throughout the film.  At first it seems like Nash is not going to be making very much money from his work for Carver, but as the story progresses, he brings in quite the amount of cash.  Imagine what Carver is making if Nash is only taking a small cut of Carver's earnings per home foreclosed.
     The dialogue is excellent and at times it feels as if it's not even scripted.  These moments are mainly those in which someone is being thrown out of their home and the realtor and police are there to kick them out.  These are the kinds of scenes that make this movie so thrilling because they are so full of "action" and conflict.
     Andrew Garfield and Michael Shannon are both electrifying in their performances as Nash and Carver respectively.  Shannon gives off an emotionless aura to a role that really has no emotion nor remorse for his actions, and Garfield makes up for that lack of emotion in his role as his character is the one being affected by Carver's actions.
     As I said above, this is one of the most thrilling and exciting films of the year.  It's odd to feel that way because normally as a moviegoer I find that the films with the gratuitous amounts of violence and action are the most thrilling.  99 Homes is the exception, and I think you'll find the same thing.  99 Homes is both directed and written brilliantly, making for a film that should not be missed.
     I give 99 Homes an A-.