Taking place in sun-kissed Orlando, Florida, Ramin Bahrani's 99 Homes tells a modern day tragedy set admist the backdrop of the 2008 housing market collapse. Dennis is a construction worker, working his tail off to try to keep up on the payments to his house where his mother and daughter reside. Evicted from his home by Rick Carver, a poised real-estate broker who represents the banks, Dennis finds himself homeless and desperate. Unexpectedly getting an opportunity to work for Rick Carver, striking a deal with the very man who evicted him and his family from their home. Ramin Bahrani's 99 Homes is an angry film about the 2008 housing market collapse, making it clear early on that the film is going to attempt to encapsulate the predatory nature of capitalism. Dennis is a character who is essentially selling his soul to the devil, eventually aiding Carver in kicking people out of their homes in an effort to gain as much property as possible. 99 Homes captures the nature of capitalism in that you really need to be out for yourself in order to truly succeed, as Dennis sees his morals go out the window in an effort to save his own family home. While the film feels a little to "on the nose' for my liking, Michael Shannon adds a great level of dimension to a rather flat, one-dimensional Rick Carver character, with underlying tenacity and deep-seeded fear for being poor that drives him. His character embodies the competitiveness which capitalism breeds, with Andrew Garfiled's Dennis Nash his puppy dog counterpart, which Carver has power over. 99 Homes could have been better if it was more balanced in its critique, with Shannon's character exposing his intentions too promtly for my liking, making it almost feel like the filmmakers felt like they needed to have a 'bad guy', not letting the system itself, which created this collapse, carry the torch. Given 99 Homes examination of capitalism and the greed it breeds, the comparisons to Wall Street are warranted. The biggest problem I have with 99 Homes is the fact that it's a little too forceful in getting its message across but the strong performances and solid direction make it solid drama about the destructive power greed has not only on the individual, but society as a whole.
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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