In the world of foreclosed houses. real estate brokers, banks and enormous amounts of money, the only thing humans must not forget – is its humanity and compassion. What happens with Dennis Nash (Adam Garfield) is unfortunate, however, it’s the reality perhaps many more must face. Dennis is a recently unemployed single father who struggles to get back his foreclosed home by working for the real estate broker, Rick Carver (Michael Shannon) who is the real source of his current situation. But when the young man gets deep into the world of the powerful man, he realizes that he is just a shark in a big ocean who tries to play the game with the shark.…

After losing his job, Dennis loses his house due to his inability to pay the mortgage. Having rich experience in construction, Rick finds him useful to work with, as many houses foreclosed require a certain ‘touch-up’. Getting easy money for almost doing nothing, Dennis soon with the help of his ‘new friend’ gets his house back, but with a price he still is unaware of. While Dennis enjoys money he receives from his boss, he soon starts doing the same thing that was done by Rick: foreclosing the houses due to debt. By the time Dennis realizes that he is a victim of a big scam, It will be too late to withdraw from it.…

99 Homes literally provides so many reasons to watch the film, however, it takes only seconds to fall in love with this film. The dynamic opening scene with the dramatic score gives you a heads up about a movie you already know will not be a simple one to watch. When a man shoots himself before the police, after Rick arrives with the order, you know that you probably will have to face similar situations throughout the film. It’s quite a powerful scene when Dennis, with his mother and son are left outside of his house, after the bank takes over his house. This is when he understands that he fails to keep his promise he gave to his son. And because of his frustration, desperation and desire to bring his family back to their house, Dennis becomes a potential tool for Rick to cover up his fraud.

Ramin Bahrani, who wrote and directed 99 Homes, perfectly feels the environment while he plants the seed of his perfect plot onto the big screen. Even Adam Garfield, who has never been a good actor delivers quite an impressive performance, which I found as a big surprise. Michael Shannon probably is one of the most versatile actors in the industry who knows well how to handle any type of role, especially tricky ones like Rick Carver. This is why there should be no surprises when you hear about Shannon receiving The Golden Globe Award for his performance.

In conclusion, 99 Homes delivers an intense story, where the ugly side of foreclosed is exposed in Bahrani’s film. It also emphasizes the desperation of many people who must face the unfortunate part of their lives when they find themselves on the street after losing their house. Perhaps the system must find a better way of dealing with this issue to avoid consequences this might bring. While this film does not provide a life changing solution, it however shows what should not be done in order to not get into more trouble.