In ‘99 Homes,’ a Man Buffeted and Then Manipulated in Florida’s Foreclosure Disaster

Not much to disagree with: a very powerful, truly devastating, movie in lots of ways. I'll only say that I'm not sure I agree w/ Mr. Scott about the ending: though it's of course fairly satisfying (not quite as ambiguous as Mr. Scott suggests, because...), it, like much of the film, tracks so closely with Wall Street (some could say that it almost plagiarizes, everything from protagonist's initial wholesomeness spoiled by a charismatically diabolical capitalist greed-is-good mentor, then the whorish trophy babe that comes along w/ the ill-gotten loot, then in the end the pangs of conscience bringing him back to his wholesome origins in betraying his boss to the authorities. This film so exactly matches WS- instead of cannibalizing a struggling corporation, this time people's "American Dream" - one wonders if the film wouldn't have been better to escalate the horror more & more to a really devastating finale. It would have had more punch that way. Instead, the film reaches its psychological climax w/ the initial eviction, depleting its energy gradually like a roller coaster. Which brings me to the other obvious comparison: speaking of realist film, "Bicycle Thieves," formerly translated as "The Bicycle Thief" from the Italian. Either version of that title conveys the irony that we don't know till the final moment that the entire film we're seeing the title character, the vicious cycle involved. This film hints at that, but misses where the Italian film hits devastatingly.

I thought it was a brilliant and true revelation of the sharks who benefited greatly from Wall Street's lethal pre-2007 mortgage plan but the ending completely negated everything that preceded it. The Nash's of that world continued onward with what they had learned from their real estate mentors. Bahrani and Co. went for a Dickensian melodramatic ending and fouled up a potentially great film.

The story plays out true to life as presented through the protagonist, the power figure, the mother and the son. If there were a wife and mother of the boy around, there might be less inclination to hook up with devil; it is what it is. Common wisdom is everything has to be taken from someone before change comes. The poor are always with you; in fact their numbers are growing. And they really don't seem much help as far as getting reelected goes.

Beyond it's message, this great film and, by the way, great Times comments. I would like to add that the last scene, of the boy looking at Dennis Nash/Garfield is very close to the last scene of the young, Botticelli like girl of La Dolce Vita. In both films, the images of fresh, still innocent faces is typical of neorealism, there is always some hope (without defining it, it's not necessary).

I thought this film was terrific. I was impressed by its understatement, that it didn't do cheap tricks, take cheap ways out, I truly did not know what was going to happen. I'm always amazed how much a good director and actors can do without words...being a word person myself, I'm always learning from film. I liked the ambiguity of the ending, thought it really worked.

mr. scott, i respectfully disagree with your assessment of the ending. the final shot is closer to ambiguous and far from clear. it is actually seems counter-intuitive in many respects.
unfortunately, this film falls down at the end; not mr. bahrani's finest work.

I often wonder how the people involved in that whole process, including the police officers who provide the muscle and threat of force, can look at themselves in the mirror in the morning.

President Obama should be made to see this film. It would clear up whatever delusions he has about his major failure to help all the unfortunate homeowners who were lied to and abused. Shame on him.

If you can turn foreclosure into an action/suspense movie the director is by definition brilliant and it has to be an excellent film. Bravo!

Why is relatively-young Laura Dern cast as a grandmother? What's wrong with filmmakers?

99 HOMES was so contrived I was left with little feeling for Dennis and Rick and what they represented. Bahrani's film was so morally muddled that it was hard to care about any of the evictees and that was the point, wasn't it? Even Dennis' last reel conversion was hard to swallow. Suddenly this sensitive guy turned thief and liar turns in his boss because he felt sorry for a home owner he had a three minute relationship with? Never. Nope. Doesn't work. Just like the film... hard to believe. 99 HOMES had so much potential that got lost in so many bad decisions. Sad.

(note: some spoilers ahead) My criticism to the screenplay is that, by having Rick (and then Dennis) cheat the system for their gain and break the law, it makes it too easy to pick sides. Of course, Rick is the bad guy and Dennis is making a pact with the devil.

But what if Rick had been acting perfectly within the law? Is he still the bad guy? Is it wrong to do business and benefit from the foreclosures? After all, the banks are in their right in repossessing those homes, and someone has to do the job. I think that would have made the moral dilemma much more interesting.

I still enjoyed the movie, it is indeed powerful and the leads are excellent.

When banks began to offer mortgages that could fluctuate in percentage over time, I was incredulous that anyone would sign such a document knowing the chances of the rate's decreasing versus increasing. I still can hardly believe it.

When I reached the end of the review, I had to laugh at the pithy justifications for the R rating.

Michael Shannon has an intensity that allows him to dominate every scene and the skill to hold it in check. His excellent performance is just one of the many reasons to see this superb film.

I usually don't agree with Scott and this review is no different. For me the real moral dilemma in this film is not Carver's. He knows who he is and what he does and does not self reflect, he justifies his brutality.
Dennis Nash is the one with the dilemma; let his family sleep in a welfare type hotel or do what he has to to get them back in their home. He does sell his soul to the devil. Without giving away the ending, I felt it worked and reminded me of the ending to the terrific German film 'Phoenix'. Slight in action, monumental in consequence.
What I liked about the film was how it avoided the 'big scene'. It amped up the pressure instead of giving us the violent and inevitable blowout early on.
While at times it got a bit black and white all in all the character's actions seemed justified.
The minor characters were a bit weak, Mom, the son, felt a bit forced.
The whole intermixing with politics also needed to be introduced earlier to give it the weight it needed.
However, the film is carried by the two leads. Shannon was stunning and Garfield was well cast, against type. His character development shapes the story and we care about him, even when he makes bad choices.
All in all a very strong and disturbing film, but important, dramatizing how the banks destroyed people's lives, issuing loans then changing the rates and duping people they knew could never afford those loans. They should be locked up.

I saw this movie a couple weeks ago at a preview benefit for a Washington DC charity that deals with homelessness. it has nothing to do with the quality of the movie, but the producers offered these previews as fund-raisers for related charities in many cities.

I like the work of Michael Shannon, who plays the lead heavy. I was not disappointed by his work here. It's a good movie because its fast paced, dramatic, with good mood music and illustrates the black and white of being in a tough situation. Our hero is being evicted and winds up working for Shannon's character in the eviction business. Laura Dern plays our hero's mother, but not very well. The movie is dominated by the two principal characters and is really well done up to about the 80% mark, then it wimps out with an ending I found to be unsatisfying. Still, an 80% good movie is better than many I've seen.

So, does an ethically-ambiguous movie about unethical business people exploit unethical behavior, and therefore become unethical itself?

Divide up in small groups, and discuss.

One of the most cynical movies ever made, "Network" (1976), was about how cynical the American system of network television business was. Watch it again, and cringe at its ending. Who dies there, how, and why?

Donald trumps fans should watch this movie. since that is what Trump did for a living. This is the kind of person who wants to be the president.

Can't wait to see it!

Mr. Shannon's performance is awards quality--and by no means the only thing in this film that is. Rick Carver is as memorable as Gordon Gekko--but more nuanced and much less of a carricature. Go see it as an appreciable gesture of protest against what the banks perpetrated, as well as a good time at the movies.

I went to the screening of this last week and must say it's far more powerful than you would imagine from what looks like a more simple film. The emotional and intellectual impact hits you hard and at times the lines blur between this being a film and something you're watching live. Stunning performances.

Why hasn't there been a movie yet about the Housing Bubble of the mid-2000s? That seems like a great topic for a Preston Sturgess-type comedy about mass madness.

Truly great film deserving of critical praise. The key question now is whether audiences will see the connection between story as commentary on the on-going foreclosure crisis or simply as a sad episode consigned to the dustbin of history. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joel-sucher/99-homes-a-movie_b_8173920.html

As a foreclosure defense attorney, I have the impression that this movie should become required education for all Americans. What these banks did to us is unconscionable.

This fascinating review makes me want to see the film. Next project: The current real estate crisis in New York City where unwary tenants are made homeless by unscrupulous greedy landlords. (Am I being redundant?) Of course that can be set any time in the city's history.

Why not a film about the thousands living in foreclosed homes without paying a dime? Or those who lied regarding their income to obtain an illegal mortgage? Meanwhile, millions struggle to pay what they promised while their taxes jump to compensate for the free loaders! There is no free ride! One persons rent control or unpaid mortgage raises the tax obligation for the rest of us!