Tuesday, March 1, 2016

99 Homes

An out of work handyman (Andrew Garfield) living with his son and mother (Laura Dern), is evicted from their Florida home during the 2010 housing crisis and, with his soul on the table, makes a deal for his home and goes to work for the opportunistic shark (Michael Shannon) who purchased it. Ramin Bahrani's 99 Homes is an intense, suspenseful parable, told with anger, intelligence, and what feels like authenticity, even if it does quickly become clear where the film is going. Garfield is earnest and believable as a hard luck joe and Shannon is a magnetic Mephistopheles.
**** out of ****