(Center left to right) Michael Shannon stars as Rick Carver and Andrew Garfield as Dennis Nash in “99 Homes” (Photo Credit: Broad Green Pictures). 


Deal with the Devil 

 

 

The love of money is the root of all evil.


And since the devil controls the evil in the world, sometimes he can take over the soul of individuals on Earth.


It is often scary how low man will stoop for the almighty dollar.


Other people are no longer people, just opportunities to fatten one’s wallet.


And the lives of those people are no longer important, which gives way to the lavish desires of one’s evil intentions.


The film “99 Homes” is an evil thriller in name only.


It is more of a cautionary tale on how one can gain the whole world and lose everything that is important at the same time.


Dennis Nash (Andrew Garfield, “The Social Network”) represents an underrepresented group in the media, the single father doing whatever it takes to keep a roof over his family’s head and food in their stomachs.


He takes any construction, plumbing or electrical job he can find, and although his mother Lynn (Laura Dern) styles hair out of their home, it is still not enough to pay the mortgage on time.


Dennis is desperately trying to save the home he grew up in, but a second mortgage on the home and bad legal advice makes that desire virtually impossible.


He is three months behind on mortgage payments because someone advised him not to pay.


He loses a court hearing on the matter, but the judge gives him 30 days to file an appeal of the foreclosure.


Nevertheless, realtor Rick Carver (Michael Shannon, “The Iceman”) forecloses on the home long before the 30 days expires, and workers kick the Nashes belongings to the curb, separating Dennis’ son Connor (Noah Lomax) from his friends and classmates. 


When the construction jobs slow down, Dennis is forced to work with Rick, the same man who kicked the Nash family and so many others out of their home, in order to earn enough money to buy the beloved family home back and get his mother and son out of a sleazy and dangerous motel.


“99 Homes” is not a typical thriller or suspense film, but it is a cold-blooded one that digs deep into the psychology of what makes man so evil and heartless.


In a way, Shannon’s role in “99 Homes” is more heartless and cold-blooded than his role as treacherous hit man Richard Kuklinksi in the gangster biopic “The Iceman.”


Garfield is his usual stellar self in the Orlando-based “99 Homes.”  He is even convincing with his Southern accent.  One can hear a touch of a Southern drawl without overdoing it like Allen Payne in “Jason’s Lyric.”


Unfortunately, “99 Homes” does get off to an above average start, not a good start.


It starts off strongly with a suicide but then drags a bit until the middle of the film.


Some of the early scenes in “99 Homes” were too short and unnecessary at times. 

 

Those scenes should have either been developed a bit more or deleted and just included as bonus material on the DVD.


REGAL RATINGS

FOUR CROWNS=EXCELLENT

THREE CROWNS=GOOD

TWO CROWNS=AVERAGE

ONE CROWN=POOR


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