Movie Review | 99 Homes (Lights, Camera, Action!)

99 Homes (UK Rating: 15)

Builder Dennis Nash (Andrew Garfield) is a grafter, but it doesn't prevent him being a victim of the recession. Work dries up and his home is re-possessed, putting him, his young son, and his mother out on the streets. Squeezed into one room in a shabby motel, the family is desperate to get its home back, and Dennis will take any work that comes his way. It just happens to come from Rick Carver (Michael Shannon), the real estate agent responsible for just about every foreclosure in that part of Orlando. Swallowing his pride, Dennis starts working for Carver full time and earns enough to buy back the family home, but the deal he's made with Carver comes at a price.

This is a morality tale for the recession, yet dressed as a thriller. Dennis has essentially sold his soul to the devil to make sure his mother and son have somewhere to live. It starts out as a few cash-in-hand jobs, but he's soon drawn into the more lucrative side of Carver's business and the money is, understandably, tempting. Carver's scams are an even bigger draw: stealing air conditioning units from empty houses and then being paid by the government to install brand new ones in the same properties - but, of course, they are stolen ones, as well. For Dennis, it feels like revenge on the government and banks that let him down. After all, hard work didn't get him anywhere, so why not take back some of what he's owed?

On the thriller side, it builds slowly and steadily to a satisfying climax. Don't expect any thrills as such but do expect to be drawn in, because this is a character-driven film with some powerful performances that really deliver. Garfield and Shannon are both on great form and their scenes together bristle with a barely concealed mutual contempt. Shannon's Carver wears an almost indelible sneer and is completely amoral, while Garfield is sympathetic as the man on the horns of a dilemma, knowing what he's doing is wrong but being sucked in nonetheless. It's a definite change of course for the actor most familiar as playing Spider-Man.

7/10

Very Good - Bronze Award

99 Homes is the American dream gone sour and pulls no punches in demonstrating that, while recessions devastate lives, they ironically produce spectacular winners. While it may not wholly work as a thriller, it's still a thought-provoking 21st Century morality tale with first-rate performances from its two leads, as well as its extensive supporting cast of cameos. Andrew Garfield may have lost the Spider-Man role recently but, judging from his performance here, that might not turn out to be a bad thing after all.