Based upon the recent housing crisis, 99 Homes takes on a large and complicated web responsible for crippling the average home buyer. It’s smart in many respects as it details the ways in which the system is manipulated by real estate brokers. But while it’s harrowing, one still gets the feeling that this low-key drama could have striven to inspire even more outrage.
Dennis Nash (Andrew Garfield) is an Orlando construction worker whose work has dried up due to the decline of the house-building market. Unable to pay his mortgage, the protagonist, his mother (Laura Dern) and his son (Noah Lomax) find themselves evicted by hardened real estate broker Rick Carver (Michael Shannon). Desperate and living in a motel, Nash takes cash from Carver to help clean out another house. Before long, he is taken under the wing of the broker, learning the ins and outs of the business.
The film clearly and concisely explains many of Carver’s tricks of the trade and how he manipulates the system for his own personal gain. This includes having Nash steal appliances and AC units from evicted properties, only to claim the expenses and then reinstall the missing items. It also involves taking vacant lots and faking ownership to collect money on a “keys for cash” scam on the side. The nastiness reaches its apex when he becomes involved in a massive deal with the banks involving 100 foreclosures.
Carver does give some interesting talks early on, lecturing Nash on how the system works and how it is essentially rigged, “by the winners and for the winners,” in order to help them continue winning. These fraudulent actions are both disturbing, and in some respects, very enlightening. It’s fascinating to see a desperate man quickly change his attitude and eventually become as immoral as the person he was chastising only weeks ago.
While many of the events may have been based on real life incidents, the narrative does become more strained towards the climax. At his lowest, Nash partakes in a wild real estate party, making out with random women and living the high life – these scenes come too quickly, feel a bit silly and don’t come across as dramatically plausible. Given his lengthy disappearances that result in the character returning home with wads of cash, it’s also a bit of a stretch to believe family members would wait so long to ask for details and question who he has been working for.
There are a few visual metaphors that are a bit too “on the nose” (including a reflection of Nash that places him over his head and under water, as well as some long stares from various characters into camera) and come across in a heavy-handed manner. And while the climax is appropriately tense, the wrap-up and resolution is a let-down. Frankly, for a movie that should be attempting to inspire outrage, it’s all too muted in its execution. The finale needs to provoke a bit more fury and passion than the overly clean and simple resolution provides.
That’s not to say that 99 Homes isn’t a good movie. The performances are strong and it features a very important message about the regular Joe being taken advantage of by scavengers, who rationalize horrific actions that hurt everyone. In the end it provides the necessary information as a dramatic story, but could have riled up even more anger and indignation of viewers by the time the end credits roll.