Review of 99 Homes (2015) by Dawdlingpoet — 25 Nov 2021

This is quite a grim and bleak film, obviously reflecting on the recent US property market crash. It shows the importance of families staying together in such tough circumstances, with various characters playing their own roles in trying to stay strong and as the saying goes 'grit your teeth and get on with it'. The family face some tough choices but there are some scenes in which things seem more positive than perhaps you might automatically presume (or fear).

I'd say that one of the main themes explored in this film is greed and/or selfishness. Certainly many Brits could relate to the feelings made clear by other members of the community featured, as far as the hatred of bankers is concerned(!) and I'd say there's quite a strong sense of 'them' vs 'us' present.

The film does well to portray the lack of easy available employment in the Orlando, Florida area, which I can imagine being the case. I think Florida has been among the states worst hit by the foreclosure crisis. There is an element of exploitation present and, content wise, there is some strong language, sex references and bloody violence, although nothing tremendously graphic. I felt this is more of a psychological thriller, a film that involves trying to decipher peoples intentions - where you question what may be a bluff or a double bluff and the like. It is somewhat absorbing, mainly as the main family featured seems a decent lot with the father, Dennis, coming across as particularly conscientious, wanting to provide for his family - consciencious but somewhat naive, while also determined. I found myself feeling quite attached to the various characters and wondering what would become of them and (or moreso) their properties. The community is depicted in quite a desolate way and the fact that one particularly loud and assertive, brash individual seems to have so much control over the residents and their property is quite unsettling and I couldn't help but think felt so unfair ultimately. Unsurprisingly, this film does make you think about who the winners and the losers have been as far as recent economic downfalls are concerned, the property crash and so on. It shows the community to be really quite vulnerable, in a way that perhaps we may not have realised beforehand.

The film uses some quite tense background music (or muzack?) to help add to the tension in key scenes. Pace wise its pretty slow - its one of those slow burners I believe their called. You have to be keen to follow Dennis to discover the outcome of his employment and his family situation. It has something of a b-movie feel about it, in terms of it not being a big Hollywood blockbuster type film and also I noticed that the camerawork is a little jerky at times.

Cast wise, Dennis is played by Andrew Garfield. He does well playing the young, determined, desperate father, although he has his flaws as a character but he's certainly well portrayed. The villain or otherwise 'bad guy' Rich Carver is played by Michael Shannon. He comes across as ruthless and selfish and he came across as really quite convincing, so I thought anyway, shrugging things off a little too fast and easily. Other cast members include Noah Lomax and Albert C. Bates as two kids who are friends that get split up after their individual families are forceably evicted.

This is quite a hard hitting film, certainly by the end - it gets really quite tense and sinister by the final scenes, in which I felt really invested in hoping for the best for Dennis and his family, hoping for a good outcome and thus I feel this was a good film, if but rather grim and bleak, of course.

Yes I'd recommend it, as a film that brings across the personal, the emotional turbulence felt by those personally affected by the American foreclosure crisis. Its quite a tense film and although it doesn't feature a great amount of action and special effects, it is quite bleak and grim and so on, it does feature good portrayals i.e. a good cast, interesting characters, I felt it was overall a fairly gripping film - one that covers some important themes and on that basis, I'd recommend it.