By Keeva Stratton
99 Homes reminds us of the true impact the global financial crisis had for the many families who lost everything.
Image via Latinpost.com
Unable to stop his family home from being foreclosed, Dennis Nash (Andrew Garfield) is forced to move his mother and his son into a motel. He’s lost his job, his home, and is left to work with the very man who evicted him, just to earn enough to get his family through each day.
It’s a deal with the devil, but in his desperation, it’s the only option he has to keep his family afloat.
Richard Carver (Michael Shannon) is that devil. He’s made more money since the crash, and is slowly building a real estate empire off the profits he is making from reselling the foreclosed houses on the bank’s behalf.
As an out-of-work builder, Dennis has no choice but to work for him. In an instant, he has gone from being the victim, to employee. He knows it’s wrong, but it’s the only way he can keep his family fed and housed. The deeper he goes down this dark path, the more dangerous it gets.
99 Homes reveals the chain of events and change in fortune that can be triggered by a single calamity. For families who live on the edge of poverty, it doesn’t take a lot to cascade from self sufficiency to utter desperation.
It’s tragic, and sadly it’s the reality for too many families who were caught in the GFC. It’s also frightening to see the way in which those who have the money and the power use it to further the horror of the plight of many.
99 Homes is as chilling as it is disturbing, showing the worst of human nature. Michael Shannon is frightening as the real estate agent willing to destroy lives to further line his pockets, and Andrew Garfield shows us a different side to his acting chops with this mature portrayal of a man on the edge.
It’s a bolt through the heart, but a film worth watching, to remind us all of the human and moral cost of a society which places profits above people.
Directed by: Ramin Bahrani
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Michael Shannon, Laura Dern and Noah Lomax
Release date: 19 November
Runtime: 112mins
Rating: TBC
User rating: 3.5/5
[youtube id=”Vh0piQN1_LY” align=”left” mode=”normal” autoplay=”no”]