99 Homes

99 Homes is surely the first film to have been described as a ‘foreclosure thriller’. The latest effort from noted independent director Ramin Bahrani, it tells the story of Dennis Nash, played by Andrew Garfield, an unemployed contractor who is evicted from his family home in the first scene of the film. The twist also arrives early, as Dennis, in desperate need of income accepts a job from Rick Carver, the heartless property dealer who presided over his own eviction.

Bahrani uses his trademark style, with of lots of handheld camera work, to great effect to depict this brutal world of families being forced out of their homes by banks and courts, and forced to live in motel rooms with no real possibility of recourse. He also uses real sheriffs and tenants who have lived through these experiences to act out their roles within the film to enhance the sense of authenticity.

Coming from an independent filmmaking background and sensibility Bahrani handles the transition to a significant budget better than he did with his previous film, 2013’s At Any Price. He successfully integrates the performances of Andrew Garfield and Michael Shannon into his documentary style approach to narrative film. Personally I believe there is a disparity however between the two lead performances, Michael Shannon’s presence in the film is absolutely captivating and completely dominating, he looks like he’s having a huge amount of fun pushing the limits of Carver, a borderline sociopathic individual who takes what he wants from those around him. Andrew Garfield is certainly not bad, but in what might be described as his first grown-up role, having graduated from many good performances as a late teen/young adult, he struggles to match the excellent Shannon. Having said that, he contributes to some great scenes and between them they bring the story to life. An admirable effort all round.