Sundance Review: '99 Homes', Starring Andrew Garfield and Michael Shannon

When the recession hit, the majority of the population really felt the housing and real estate plummet. Many middle class families got stuck with banks who told them to stop paying their mortgages while they adjusted their rates to something more affordable. Suffice to say that they got screwed over big time while the banks got bailed out. Is it fair? Hell no. And director Ramin Bahrani turns this reality into a theatrical thriller with superb performances from Andrew Garfield and Michael Shannon.

Dennis Nash (Andrew Garfield) is a struggling father and caretaker who fell into hard times after every construction job he takes building homes falls apart because there is no money to do so during the most recent recession. This means that Nash doesn't get paid if the job doesn't go through. After trying to adjust his mortgage rate via the bank, they tell him to stop paying his mortgage while they sort all the paperwork out. Essentially, he gets screwed over by the bank and they foreclose on his home.

Enter Rick Carver (Michael Shannon), a real estate broker who is involved in evicting people and cheating banks out of their money. While many fall on bard times, Carver is raking in the cash. After evicting Nash, Carver, knowing Nash is desperate for money and not having any luck with jobs, he takes him under his wing in a strange turnaround. Nash struggles with the ethics of what he's doing but relishes in being able to provide for his mother Lynn (Laura Dern) and son Connor (Noah Lomax).

The film opens with a strong scene in which a man has committed suicide and the police are on the swarm, trying to find out what happened from no one other than Michael Shannon's character. So from the onset, the film is extremely intense, and if you've ever known anyone who's gone through something like a foreclosure or a short sale like I have, the topic at hand will most likely touch you in a very personal way. 99 Homes not only makes a statement about the recession, banks, and the world of real estate (and a very powerful one at that), but also speaks to the fact that desperate times sometimes call for desperate measures, but at what cost? 

Ramin Bahrani really knows how to keep the momentum going. The pacing moves at a wonderful pace, not too slow, and not so fast that anyone can't keep up with some of the technical lingo within the plot. There are moments when I hoped we'd get more of a real conversation between Andrew Garfield and Laura Dern's characters about what was happening, because he hides it from her for the same reason you hide anything from a parent: You know they'll be upset. We get some of the major repercussions for that, but nothing really concrete, as it's more focused on Garfield's character. 

Bahrani commits himself to the story and to painting these characters in gray at every turn. Since Garfield's character is at the forefront, we really sympathize with him, question some of his actions, but ultimately understand where he's coming from. He understands himself too, as he's always questioning himself ethically, and Garfield portrays this in a fantastic emotional portrayal, because this is where his character's head space is. He isn't being logical, but his decisions are made in an emotional manner. These decisions are the ones that bring in the most tension-filled scenes and also the most emotionally-triggering ones. Garfield is superb in this and really cements himself as a great actor, no questions asked. 

And since Bahrani knows how to get the best out of his characters, this is also one of Michael Shannon's best performances in recent memory. He's terrifying, a ruthless businessman who isn't into emotional attachments at all, and through helping Garfield, he's really helping himself, though I don't believe he's completely without a heart. He too is also fantastic in his role and whenever he and Garfield share a scene together, there's a palpable chemistry and spark of underlying tension in the air between their characters. Laura Dern does an excellent job as well as Garfield's mother, though my only complaint, as mentioned before, is that there wasn't all that much for her to do, her character in an extremely limiting supporting role. However, when there was something for her to do or to express, she was great.

99 Homes is one of those films that is sometimes hard to watch. The topic alone is close to home for many and the idea that this could even happen is hard to wrap your head around. Ramin Bahrani is a gifted director, knowing how to tell his story both technically and emotionally. There are moments where the film could have expanded on personal relationships (i.e. Garfield and Dern's mother/son dynamic), but this largely plays more of a role in the end and doesn't affect the film in a necessarily negative way. There's a lot to like in the film. There's drama, suspense, great storytelling, powerful performances, and an emotionally riveting tale of consequences, lawlessness, and piggybacking off of the people who are used and abused by the system. Solid and well worth watching.

Read More

'99 Homes', Keanu Reeves' 'Knock Knock' Lead Sundance Midnight and Spotlight Lineup

Yeah, there's more. Just a day after Sundance revealed the first wave of movies for next month's festival (next month!!!), the lineup gets bigger and better with the Midnight and Spotlight slates. Leading the pack for me is the Eli Roth horror, Knock Knock, starring Keanu Reeves; Ramin Bahrani's 99 Homes starring Andrew Garfield, and Mia Hansen-Love's DJ film, Eden.  Also set to screen is the IRA thriller '71 (which I saw at Middleburg but haven't reviewed yet) starring Jack O'Connell; The Hallow, which is a new film from Corin Hardy, who just landed the gig directing The Crow reboot; and Aloft starring Jennifer Connelly and Cillian Murphy. Check out the press release below:

SPOTLIGHT
Regardless of where these films have played throughout the world, the Spotlight program is a tribute to the cinema we love.

6 Desires: DH Lawrence and Sardinia / United Kingdom, Italy (Director: Mark Cousins) — In winter 1921, DH Lawrence and his wife journeyed to Sardinia, and he chronicled their experiences in Sea and Sardinia. Now, Mark Cousins retraces Lawrence’s footsteps. The film is conceived partly as a letter to Lawrence — or “Bert” — a detail that’s typical of the film’s inviting sense of conversational intimacy. International Premiere

'71 / United Kingdom (Director: Yann Demange, Screenwriter: Gregory Burke) — ‘71 takes place over a single night in the life of a young British soldier accidentally abandoned by his unit following a riot on the streets of Belfast in 1971. Unable to tell friend from foe, he must survive the night alone and find his way to safety. Cast: Jack O'Connell, Paul Anderson, Richard Dormer, Sean Harris, Barry Keoghan, Martin McCann.

99 Homes / U.S.A. (Director: Ramin Bahrani, Screenwriters: Ramin Bahrani, Amir Naderi, Bahareh Azimi) — A father struggles to get back the home that his family was evicted from by working for the greedy real-estate broker who's the source of his frustration. Cast: Andrew Garfield, Michael Shannon, Laura Dern, Tim Guinee, Cullen Moss, J.D. Evermore.

Aloft / Spain, France, Canada (Director and screenwriter: Claudia Llosa) — Aloft tells the story of a struggling mother, Nana, and her evolution to becoming a renowned healer. When a young artist tracks down Nana's son 20 years after she abandoned him, she sets in motion an encounter between the two that will bring the meaning of their lives into question. Cast: Jennifer Connelly, Cillian Murphy, Mélanie Laurent, William Shimell. North American Premiere

Eden / France (Director: Mia Hansen-Løve, Screenwriters: Mia Hansen-Løve, Sven Hansen-Løve) — Mia Hansen-Løve's electronic-dance-music epic follows the rise and fall of a DJ (based on her brother, Sven, a contemporary of Daft Punk) who gets into the rave scene in 1994 and spends the next 20 years navigating the French club scene. Cast: Félix de Givry, Pauline Etienne, Greta Gerwig, Brady Corbet, Arsinee Khanjian, Vincent Macaigne.

Girlhood / France (Director and screenwriter: Céline Sciamma) — Oppressed by her family, dead-end school prospects, and the boys law in the neighborhood, Marieme starts a new life after meeting a group of free-spirited girls. She changes her name and dress, and quits school to be accepted in the gang, hoping to find a way to freedom. Cast: Karidja Touré, Assa Sylla, Lindsay Karamoh, Mariétou Touré, Idrissa Diabaté, Simina Soumaré.

The Tribe / Ukraine (Director and screenwriter: Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy) — Set at a Ukrainian boarding school for the deaf, the film’s narrative unfolds purely through sign language without the need for employing subtitles or voiceover, resulting in a unique, never-before-seen cinematic experience that engages the audience on a new level. Cast: Grigoriy Fesenko, Yana Novikova, Rosa Babiy, Alexander Dsiadevich.

White God / Hungary (Director: Kornél Mundruczó, Screenwriters: Kata Wéber, Kornél Mundruczó, Viktória Petrányi) — When young Lili is forced to give up her beloved dog, Hagen, because its mixed-breed heritage is deemed “unfit” by The State, she and the dog begin a dangerous journey back toward each other. Cast: Zsófia Psotta, Sandor Zsótér, Szabolcs Thuróczy, Lili Monori, László Gálffi, Lili Horváth. U.S. Premiere

Wild Tales / Argentina, Spain (Director and screenwriter: Damián Szifrón) — Inequality, injustice, and the demands of the world cause stress and depression for many people. Some of them, however, explode. This is a movie about those people. Vulnerable in the face of an unpredictable reality, the characters of Wild Tales cross the thin line dividing civilization and barbarism. Cast: Ricardo Darín, Julieta Zyberberg, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Darío Grandinetti, Erica Rivas, Oscar Martínez.


PARK CITY AT MIDNIGHT
From horror flicks to comedies to works that defy any genre, these unruly films will keep you edge-seated and wide awake.

Cop Car / U.S.A. (Director: Jon Watts, Screenwriters: Christopher D. Ford, Jon Watts) — Two 10-year-old boys steal an abandoned cop car. Cast: Kevin Bacon, James Freedson-Jackson, Hays Wellford, Shea Whigham, Camryn Manheim. World Premiere

The Hallow / Ireland, United Kingdom (Director: Corin Hardy, Screenwriters: Corin Hardy, Felipe Marino) — When a London-based conservationist is sent to Ireland to survey an area of ancient forest believed by the superstitious locals to be hallowed ground, he unwittingly disturbs a horde of terrifying beings and must fight to protect his family. Cast: Joseph Mawle, Bojana Novakovic, Michael McElhatton, Michael Smiley. World Premiere

Hellions / Canada (Director: Bruce McDonald, Screenwriter: Pascal Trottier) — Teenage Dora Vogel must survive a Halloween night from hell when malevolent trick-or-treaters come knocking at her door. Cast: Chloe Rose, Robert Patrick, Rossif Sutherland, Rachel Wilson, Peter DaCunha, Luke Bilyk. World Premiere

It Follows / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: David Robert Mitchell) — After a strange sexual encounter, a teenager finds herself haunted by nightmarish visions and the inescapable sense that something is after her. Cast: Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Daniel Zovatto, Jake Weary, Olivia Luccardi, Lili Sepe.

Knock Knock / U.S.A. (Director: Eli Roth, Screenwriters: Eli Roth, Nicolas Lopez, Guillermo Amoedo) — Two beautiful young girls walk into a married man's life and turn a wild fantasy into his worst nightmare. Cast: Keanu Reeves, Lorenza Izzo, Ana De Armas, Aaron Burns, Ignacia Allamand, Colleen Camp. World Premiere

The Nightmare / U.S.A. (Director: Rodney Ascher) — A documentary-horror film exploring the phenomenon of sleep paralysis through the eyes of eight people. They (and a surprisingly large number of others) often find themselves trapped between the sleeping and awake realms, unable to move but aware of their surroundings while subject to disturbing sights and sounds. World Premiere

Reversal / U.S.A. (Director: J.M Cravioto, Screenwriters: Rock Shaink, Keith Kjornes) — A gritty psychological thriller about a young woman chained in a basement of a sexual predator and manages to escape. However, right when she has a chance for freedom, she unravels a hard truth and decides to turn the tables on her captor. Cast: Tina Ivlev, Richard Tyson, Bianca Malinowski. World Premiere

Turbo Kid / Canada, New Zealand (Directors: Anouk Whissell, Francois Simard, Yoann-Karl Whissell, Screenwriters: Anouk Whissell, Francois Simard, Yoann-Karl Whissell) — In a post-apocalyptic future, The Kid, an orphaned outcast, meets a mysterious girl. They become friends until Zeus, the sadistic leader of the Wasteland, kidnaps her. The Kid must face his fears, and journey to rid the Wasteland of evil and save the girl. Cast: Munro Chambers, Laurence Leboeuf, Michael Ironside, Aaron Jeffery, Edwin Wright. World Premiere


NEW FRONTIER FILMS

The Forbidden Room / Canada (Directors: Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Screenwriters: Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Robert Kotyk) — A submarine crew, a feared pack of forest bandits, a famous surgeon, and a battalion of child soldiers all get more than they bargained for as they wend their way toward progressive ideas on life and love. Cast: Geraldine Chaplin, Caroline Dhavernas, Roy Dupuis, Udo Kier, Charlotte Rampling, Karine Vanasse. World Premiere

Liveforever / Colombia, Mexico (Director: Carlos Moreno, Screenwriters: Alberto Ferreras, Alonso Torres, Carlos Moreno) — Driven by the music and dancing she finds along the way, a teenager leaves home willing to try anything her provocative and tolerant city has to offer, even if she burns out in the process. Inspired by the best-selling novel "Que viva la música" by Andres Caicedo. Cast: Paulina Davila, Alejandra Avila, Luis Arrieta, Juan Pablo Barragan, Nelson Camayo, Christian Tappan. World Premiere

The Royal Road / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Jenni Olson) — This cinematic essay, a defense of remembering, offers up a primer on the Spanish colonization of California and the Mexican American War alongside intimate reflections on nostalgia, butch identity and Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo — all against a contemplative backdrop of 16mm urban California landscapes. Cast: Jenni Olson, Tony Kushner. World Premiere

Sam Klemke's Time Machine / Australia (Director: Matthew Bate) — Sam Klemke has filmed and narrated 50 years of his life, creating a strange and intimate portrait of what it means to be human. World Premiere

Station to Station / U.S.A. (Director: Doug Aitken) — Station to Station is composed of 60 individual one-minute films featuring different artists, musicians, places, and perspectives. This revolutionary feature-length film reveals a larger narrative about modern creativity. World Premiere

Things of the Aimless Wanderer / Rwanda, United Kingdom (Director and screenwriter: Kivu Ruhorahoza) — A white man meets a black girl, then she disappears. The white man tries to understand what happened to her while also trying to finish a travelogue. Things of the Aimless Wanderer is a film about the sensitive topic of relations between “locals” and Westerners, about paranoia, mistrust, and misunderstandings. Cast: Justin Mullikin, Grace Nikuze, Ramadhan Bizimana, Eliane Umuhire, Wesley Ruzibiza, Matt Ray Brown. World Premiere


NEW FRONTIER INSTALLATIONS

1979 Revolution Game
Artists: Navid Khonsari, Vassiliki Khonsari
1979 Revolution Game presents an innovative approach to non-fiction storytelling. Designed to engage players with an immersive "on the ground" experience of the Iranian Revolution, the game integrates an emotionally impactful narrative with interactive moral choices and intuitive touchscreen gameplay while remaining true to history.

Assent
Artist: Oscar Raby
This immersive documentary uses virtual reality technology to put the user in the footsteps of Director Oscar Raby's father, who in 1973 was a 22-year-old army officer stationed in the north of Chile, on the day when the Caravan of Death came to his regiment.

Birdly
Artist: Max Rheiner
Flying is one of the oldest dreams of humankind. Birdly is an experiment to capture this dream, to simulate the experience of being a bird from a first-person perspective. This embodiment is conducted through a full-body virtual reality setup.

Dérive
Artist: François Quévillon
This interactive installation uses the audience’s body motions and positions to explore 3-D reconstructions of urban and natural spaces that are transformed according to live environmental data, including meteorological and astronomical phenomena.

Evolution of Verse
Artist: Chris Milk
Chris Milk, working with visual effects powerhouse Digital Domain and virtual reality production company VRSE.works, has created this photo-realistic CGI-rendered 3-D virtual reality film that takes the viewer on a journey from beginning to new beginning.

Kaiju Fury!
Artist: Ian Hunter
A dark energy experiment leads to a devastating attack by monstrous Kaiju, and you are standing at ground zero — all in 360-degree, stereoscopic 3-D cinematic virtual reality. You will "be there" as the beasts lay waste to a crumbling city and humanity makes its last stand. Cast: Susie Abromeit, Bill Lippincott, Daniel Martin, Brian Dodge, Vincient Chiantelli.

Paradise
Artist: Pleix
Paradise is certainly not paradisiacal if you look at it through our eyes. But neither is it totally devoid of humor, melancholy and absurdity. Perhaps it is first and foremost life as it is, and then a touch exaggerated in the digital overdrive.

Perspective; Chapter I: The Party
Artists: Rose Troche, Morris May
A young college woman attends a party with the intention of shedding her "shy girl" persona. At the same party, a young man is after a similar reinvention. They meet, drink, and misinterpreted signals turn into things that cannot be undone. Virtual reality simulators let viewers experience both characters. Cast: Tabitha Morella, Caleb Thomas, Zachary Zagoria, Anna Grace Barlow.

Possibilia
Artists: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert
Possibilia is a multi-layered narrative experience from acclaimed directing duo the Daniels. The story of two quarreling lovers splits exponentially into more and more possible worlds as their relationship unravels. Cast: Alex Karpovsky, Zoe Jarman.

Project Syria
Artist: Nonny de la Peña
More than one million children have fled Syria and news reports indicate children are being specifically targeted in the violence. By combining pioneering virtual reality technologies with audio and video captured during a real event, audiences feel transported to the powerful scene, becoming witnesses as the intense tragedy unfolds.

The VR works of Felix & Paul
Artists: Félix Lajeunesse, Paul Raphaël
Felix & Paul’s groundbreaking live-action virtual reality experiences range from independent documentary to fictional work with major Hollywood studios and stars. These experiences let viewers sit in the room with musicians making music, roam the Mongolian plains with yak herders, and experience an encounter with the afterlife.

Way to Go
Artist: Vincent Morisset
It is a walk in the woods. It is an astonishing online and virtual reality interactive experience, a restless panorama, a mixture of hand-made animation, 360-degree video capture, music, dreaming, and code; but mostly it is a walk in the woods, c'mon!

Zero Point
Artist: Danfung Dennis
Zero Point, a 3-D and 360-degree documentary for the Oculus Rift headset, creates an entirely new digital dimension. From combat training simulations to research labs at Stanford to indie game developers and hackers, this immersive experience highlights the future of virtual reality.

Read More

Two Clips from Ramin Bahrani's '99 Homes' Starring Andrew Garfield and Michael Shannon

Ramin Bahrani's obsession with the plight of the common man has been felt mightily in his first four features, Man Push Cart, Chop Shop, Goodbye Solo, and last year's compelling if flawed At Any Price. That was his biggest film to date, with Zac Efron and Dennis Quaid starring in the heartland-set drama about farm workers. Bahrani's latest, 99 Homes, follows a similar tract as his prior movies and explores the disreputable acts that ruined lives during the housing crisis.

Andrew Garfield, Michael Shannon, and Laura Dern head up a small but strong cast for 99 Homes, and two clips have arrived to show how Bahrani plans to tackle an issue that is still plaguing America today. Garfield, taking a much-needed break from Spider-Man for awhile, plays Dennis Nash, the head of a family evicted from their home by Mike Carver (Shannon), a charismatic, unscrupulous real estate agent. When Carver offers Nash a ton of money and his home back to work for him, Nash is forced to do to other home owners what was done to him.

99 Homes recently had its premiere at the Venice Film Festival where it is competing for the prestigious Golden Lion award.


'99 Homes' Clip #1- Andrew Garfield, Michael Shannon, Ramin Bahrani by Punch Drunk Critics


'99 Homes' Clip #2- Andrew Garfield, Michael Shannon, Ramin Bahrani by Punch Drunk Critics

Read More

First Look at Andrew Garfield and Michael Shannon in '99 Homes'

Acclaimed director Ramin Bahrani has explored various corners of American culture with movies like Chop Shop, Goodbye Solo, and last year's underrated heartland drama, At Any Price. That film, which starred Zac Efron and Dennis Quaid, looked at the impact of big business and the economic decline on a prominent family of farmers. Now Bahrani is back with another timely subject; rounding up a few big names to tackle the housing crisis in 99 Homes.

The first image of Andrew Garfield and Michael Shannon in 99 Homes has arrived, and this is obviously a drastic turn from their recent superhero movie efforts. Garfield plays an unemployed family man desperate to save his family home, who joins with an unscrupulous realtor (Shannon) in the dirty business of foreclosing on the disenfranchised. This is guaranteed to be another hot-button issue stirred up by Bahrani and hopefully people will turn out for it. Certainly having Garfield and Shannon couldn't hurt.

99 Homes will debut at the Venice Film Festival before hitting Toronto. [EW]

Read More

Michael Shannon Joins Andrew Garfield in Ramin Bahrani's '99 Homes'

It looks like General Zod is going to be hanging out with Spider-Man while Ramin Bahrani gets to film the whole thing. Bahrani is coming off his biggest film yet, the heartland drama At Any Price, and while many critics didn't really take to it (I did, though), that didn't stop him from pushing forward with 99 Homes, his next exploration of the American Dream. With Andrew Garfield already attached to star, he's now lined up Boardwalk Empire and Man of Steel star, Michael Shannon.

Bahrani's previous films have looked at America through the immigrant experience, the Midwestern farming culture, and now 99 Homes will explore the current housing crisis. The Florida-set drama will have Shannon as sleazy real estate broker Mike Carver, with Garfield as Dennis Nash, a man foreclosed out of his home by Mike's shady dealings. In a last ditch effort to get his house back, Dennis goes to work for Mike only to get caught up in the industry's criminal practices.

Expect this one to get real nasty and probably a little controversial, but boy that's a trio worth getting really excited over. 99 Homes should begin filming soon, and hopefully will be on the festival circuit early next year. Fingers crossed.[THR]

Read More

Andrew Garfield to Star in Ramin Bahrani's '99 Homes'

Shortly before his death, Roger Ebert gave a final, touching interview with Man Push Cart director Ramin Bahrani, a filmmaker the renowned critic showed a deep respect for. It was at that time Bahrani revealed his next film would be 99 Homes, another small scale drama centered on a uniquely American experience, dealing with our current economic crisis. For his last film, the powerful heartland drama At Any Price, Bahrani managed to make a real actor out of Zac Efron. The challenge shouldn't be quite as steep this time, as Bahrani has secured Andrew Garfield as his next lead.

Although he'll be webslinging as Spider-Man for the next few years, Garfield has found time in his schedule to tackle the sort of indie project that helped make him a star to begin with. Bahrani has previously said the film would bet set in Orlando, Florida, and follow Dennis Nash (Garfield), a man who is evicted from his home along with his mom and son by Mike Carver, a gun-toting real estate broker. In a desperate attempt to get his home back, Dennis agrees to work for Mike, getting an inside look at the corrupt housing industry.

It's good to see Garfield isn't content to rest on playing superheroes for the rest of his career, and is still looking to take on films that are challenging in a completely different way. Production on 99 Homes begins later this year, and personally I can't wait to see how the rest of the cast shapes up.

Read More