No matter how hard they tried to teach me in school, I never have been able to understand real estate, not only does the math confuse me, but the entire industry has me in a complete pickle I can’t quite wrap my head around. That being said, the concept of foreclosure is very clear to me, which made “99 Homes” a film of some interest to me. I’ve wondered about the lives of the people going about their business evicting people from their homes. It’s not a concept I’ve gone very far thinking about, but one that was definitely explored in the making of this film. Though, the release of “99 Homes” snuck up on me, with me only learning last week that it’s been released in select locations with a Charlotte opening on Oct 9. The marketing campaign for the film has been pretty low-key, which typically doesn’t bode well for a film, let alone its box-office results, but there was a strange sense of curiosity going into “99 Homes,” hoping it could be a learning experience as well as an engaging film.

I learned something alright, I learned that the real estate industry is beyond f*cked up.

“99 Homes” is a film that is as harrowing as it is engaging. This is a film that makes your stomach hurt from the sheer amount of guilt you feel over these characters and the situations they’re placed in. From the start, its apparent that Michael Shannon is commanding the show as Rick Carver, a real estate agent who makes his living off of foreclosing innocent people’s homes. When Dennis Nash, played by Andrew Garfield, has his house foreclosed on him with his mother, played by the always spectacular Laura Dern and his son, Dennis finds a way into Rick’s business of foreclosure to help save his family from homelessness, setting off chaotic events that could change Dennis’ relationship with his family and his sanity forever.

Shannon is absolutely magnetic as Rick, a man so deplorable, you can’t help but keep your eyes glued to. I’m sure Shannon is a good man, but its always been obvious that he plays bad oh so well, but this character of Rick is Shannon’s best work yet, making General Zod look like SpongeBob. Garfield, in his first post-Spider-Man role (an underrated Spider-Man if you ask me, even if the second movie sucked), has never been better either, playing an almost uncomfortably desperate that it’s a perfect pairing with Rick, the man who seemingly has it all in his Orlando, FLA utopia. Shannon and Garfield play incredibly well with each other, having some of the tensest scenes with one another not seen in many films this year. It’s difficult to, as well as not to watch.

Director Ramin Bahrani takes a seemingly dull subject and injects it with some of the most tension seen in a film this year, rivaling that of legitimate horror films that have attempted to scare us this year. Bahrani knows exactly what to do with Shannon, Garfield and Dern, letting them play together wonderfully, while also seeming to have the utmost control over their each movement. The tense and gorgeously trashy cinematography from DP Bobby Bukowski give “99 Homes” that almost dated look that suburban FLA has so abundantly.

Near the end of the film, I wish the screenplay had gone a bit further with the material, as it ended with a few loose ends that needed to be dealt with, it could’ve been led into a much more effective end, one that could even be taken more ambiguously than it already does. Aside from this, I found the pacing of the story to be spot on, never once leading us into a dull or meaningless moment and more importantly, never leading us down a path we’ve felt as if we’ve been down before. “99 Homes” has a lot of things, clichés aren’t one of them. Whether or not you enjoy the film, it’s hard to dispute how daringly original “99 Homes” tries and succeeds to be.

“99 Homes” is a harrowing character study that doesn’t leave a good taste in your mouth. If you’re looking for a good time at the movies, look no further than “The Martian,” but for something a bit darker, with a stronger aftertaste, “99 Homes” hits its mark and splatters the audience with the figurative blood of its victims. Shannon and Garfield have never been better, going at each character like a lion would go after its seemingly innocent prey. Shannon so magnetic that he deserves serious Oscar consideration for his work. The guts and originality of “99 Homes” is going to stay with me much longer than that of a movie that wouldn’t have wanted to leave such a lasting, albeit depressing, impression. It seems easy to write off a film about real estate as simply another boring Oscar-bait film, yet, to do so would be to completely ignore everything “99 Homes” is about, which I promise, is not another boring Oscar-bait film.

4/5

Photo courtesy of Broad Green Pictures

Directed by: Ramin Bahrani
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Michael Shannon, Tim Guinee, Noah Lomax and Laura Dern.
Runtime: 112 minutes
Rating: R for language including some sexual references, and a brief violent image.

Broad Green Pictures presents, a Hyde Park Entertainment production, in association with Image Nation, an Ashok Amritraj production, in association with Noruz Films and Treehouse Pictures, a film by Ramin Bahrani, “99 Homes”