99 Homes is a movie that just should not work, and yet... it does. For all its implausibilities, somehow the movie holds together. And it's a relentless and tense exciting picture. Not what you'd expect from a film about a family being evicted from their Florida home, is it? It makes more sense when you learn that the plot is driven by an evil businessman played by Michael Shannon, who does some of his best and most epic scenery-chewing to date as he attempts to kick Andrew Garfield out on the street. Soon enough, though, Shannon has taken Garfield's character under his wing... and then the bad stuff happens. 99 Homes is very much a movie "of the times," what with all the talk going around concerning the 99% and such. That said, this works as an outright thriller on its own terms: as the story slowly builds to breaking point, it's impossible not to be invested. And yet nobody went to see it. The film made only $1 million on a budget of $8 million. Given how precise and well-crafted a movie it is, that's something akin to a travesty. See it.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
