99 Homes2015

99 Homes combines the insight of documentary filmmaking with a thriller's urgency, opening our eyes to a complex, real-life tragedy while keeping it entertaining.

"99 Homes" smartly explores class issues in capitalist America through the real estate business. What's compelling is the relationship between Rick Carver (Michael Shannon), the cold, corrupt real estate king and Dennis (Andrew Garfield) as the good hearted, struggling father working for him. The twist is that Dennis' house was evicted under Carver and he's working for him secretly out of desperation. The morally conflicting scenario makes for a quietly thrilling and thought-provoking look at capitalism. The two lead performances anchor the film and both actors do great work. Andrew Garfield's performance has a lot of heart and makes the emotional argument of the film convincing. His moral conflict is the center of the film as he struggles to be a good man and one who can provide for his loved ones. He finds it difficult to do both. Garfield carries the film through displaying guilt and hardship. Michael Shannon is a cold hard real estate tycoon who doesn't let his emotions surface, but in doing so, is able to get ahead in the game of capitalism. His performance is fierce and his presence always dominates the room. The screenplay is great at developing the conflict between honesty and power, keenly observing the flaws of American capitalism. In the film's depiction, the 1% get ahead by feeding off of the poor through corruption. Rick Carver says that only 1/100 get to go on the ark, and asks Dennis if he wants to sink or stay afloat. It's interesting how Ramin Bahrani (the director and screenwriter) doesn't put his characters in a struggle to fix the system, but suggests that as long as we have this system, there will inevitably be this divide between the 1% and 99%. It's almost hard to blame Dennis for shifting to the 1%. After all, as he puts it, the government has never been fair to him. Behind the camera, Bahrani does an excellent job of creating tension and thrilling moments out of human sized drama. His camera captures a lot of emotion in its subtle handheld movements, especially in eviction scenes. One of the film's most compelling sequences is when Dennis must put a family in the same tragic situation he was once in. Garfield carries this scene through the complex emotion on his face. "99 Homes" has a lot to say about the current state of capitalism in America through a screenplay that's one of the year's finest and some great performances to enhance it (Laura Dern is also excellent as Dennis' mom). If there's a flaw for me, it's that the film's end doesn't quite top some of the film's middle, but it doesn't stop the film from being one of the smartest of the year.

Aside from art-house fare, American movies of recent decades have tended to ignore even the most urgent social problems. Despite its lapses into melodrama, 99 Homes is a thought-provoking exception.