Rent 99 Homes (2014)

Mumble jumble - 99 Homes review by Phil

Another american film where the actors slur and mumbles their lines. I struggled to understand what they were saying for the first 20 minutes, and by the time I'd turned up the volume sufficiently and acclimatised my ears to the poor diction I think I'd missed some key elements of the plot. Possibly a good film if you can understand what they're saying but I couldn't be bothered with it after 40 minutes and gave up.

Dynamic financial crisis thriller - 99 Homes review by Alphaville

After being evicted from his home, Andrew Garfield joins forces with cynical realtor Michael Shannon to earn money by evicting others. Yep, it’s a film about the sub-prime mortgage financial crisis but, guess what, it’s riveting. Unlike other failed attempts at the same subject, such as The Big Short, this really hits the mark.

Garfield takes a step up in class from his Spiderman persona as the conflicted hero. We follow his progress and his moral dilemmas, half-hoping, half-fearing for him. There’s a deal going down for 100 homes. So why is the film called 99 Homes?

Director Ramin Bahrani keeps a tight grip of the action and moves it along at a brisk pace, aided by an insistent rhythmic score. It plays like a thriller with heart and builds dynamically to a tense climax. Well worth catching.

Don't miss your mortgage payments - 99 Homes review by AS

Yes, this is a worthy subject: folks being evicted from their homes under the duress of a crooked realtor. But no, it is not a thriller, more like a scrambed mockumentary. The narrative is extremely repetitive, full of holes, and relies heavily on unlikely coincidences. Shannon maintains a hard-edged persona to the point of being scary, but Garfield's characterisation is all over the place. Laura Dern's talent is utterly wasted. The end is a fizzle out.

What price bricks and mortar - 99 Homes review by BE

Sadly, I could not get the subtitle facility to work. I got the gist of it but American slurred diction being what it is, missed half of the dialogue. As usual, the bad language came thru loud and clear. I quite enjoyed the movie but yes, one of the main leads looking like Andy Murray, was disconcerting!

Hard Hitting Drama - 99 Homes review by NR

Indeed a hard-hitting, disturbing social-political movie around the financial crisis; specifically about collapse of the US mortgage and property sector.

Dennis is evicted from his sub-prime house in Florida, only for poacher to turn gamekeeper, when he joins forces with real-estate shark Rick.

The brutal side of capitalism is exposed, as the house-of-cards property market is monetised to a ruthless degree. Debt, homelessness and poverty is just another hustle for the heartless and cynical, epitomised by Rick Carver. At first there's a hint of his greed being glamorised, in a "love the smell of napalm in the morning" way. But ultimately Bahrani shows him, and his ilk, for what they are, as even the thinnest veneer of glamour and money peels away like the cheapest varnish.

The movie demonstrates how property agents were in cahoots with the banks (with a few scams and rip offs on the side), to dislodge defaulters from their meagre nests; offering them a few thousand dollars for their keys (if they agreed to get out) and selling the homes on, often as a batch, for their own enrichment.

Literally, sharks with a property portfolio.

Super interesting characters in the film. Laura Dern also excellent as Dennis' mother. Health care, the criminal system, the very roof above your head.... it's all a racket.

No time for losers.