99 Homes
Directed by Ramin Bahrani
Written by Ramin Bahrani, Amir Naderi, and Bahareh Azimi
Starring: Michael Shannon, Andrew Garfield, Laura Dern, and Noah Lomax
★★★★☆
99 Homes, if nothing else, will serve as a time capsule of America during the collapse of the housing market and the recession that followed shortly after that. 99 Homes chronicles the many that had struggled during the recession and faced foreclosures, and the few who had profited and benefited handsomely from the acquisition of these foreclosures.
The movie thrives on two aspects, the direction of Bahrani and the performances of Shannon, Garfield, and Dern. Bahrani directs the film is such a way that the scenes in which you witness the evicted from their home feel like a documentary. The realistic look of those scenes helped the movie feel like a real document of the time instead of a work of fiction.
The performances are excellent and defiantly worthy of Academy Awards for each of the three actors. Shannon is a force and presence whenever he is on the screen. Garfield delivers a career best performance, his best since The Social Network, and even exceeds his performance in The Social Network. While Shannon and Garfield are powerhouses throughout the film, Dern provides the emotional center of the movie.
99 Homes is a startling reminder that, now more than ever, there is an ever-growing gap between the American dream and the American reality. When I say a startling reminder, I mean that this film is like having a ten-ton brick thrown at your face.
