Review of 99 Homes (2015) by Gregory G — 31 Dec 2015

It is rare to find a Hollywood drama like this that details American economic tensions in inequality resulting from the housing crisis that caused the recent Great Recession. This is a socially conscious picture, structured like a thriller, which mostly succeeds for the first ninety minutes, but descends into heavy-handed melodrama and moralism, like so many other modern films.

Andrew Garfield is a construction worker, living with his son and mother, who has his house foreclosed on him, so desperate for work, he goes to work for the ruthless realtor (Michael Shannon) who foreclosed on him.

Although Garfield benefits financially, the film suggests that he has become morally corrupted, by doing what was done to him. Written and directed by Ramin Bahrani, there are scenes that are emotionally powerful and painful to watch, as when families are forcibly removed from their homes, but Bahrani paints with a broad brush suggesting the banks and realtors are greedy and the homeowners are innocent victims.

(We know, in fact, that some homeowners were just as financially irresponsible as the banks in taking out unnecessary loans.) More problematic is that despite Shannon's compelling performance, his character is made too obvious a villain.

Having Garfield be forced to find his humanity at the end is also dubious. Despite these flaws, this is worth seeing. With Laura Dern, Tim Guinee, Noah Lomax, J.D. Evermore.