Laborer Dennis (Garfield) has his house foreclosed; desperate and inhabiting a small apartment with his son and mother, he winds up working for the slimeball who evicted him (Shannon).

Bahrani, one of the great filmmakers currently working, has transferred his empathetic strengths to a broader, middle class canvas though retains the enterprising themes, naturalistic style and moral dilemmas of his best work: still almost an American Dardenne brother.

Despite a fine script and towering performances (Shannon is awards-worthy), Bahrani arguably hasn’t mastered filmmaking over 90 minutes – though this is, largely, a tight exemplar of intelligent and relevant independent cinema art.

Bahrani’s vérité gets somewhat lost among his amplified quasi-thrillery plot beats, but this low-key master continues to grow with a wider scope and commanding actors. Don’t miss 99 Homes.

RATING: 4/5

INFORMATION

CAST: Andrew Garfield, Michael Shannon, Laura Dern, Noah Lomax

DIRECTOR: Ramin Bahrani

WRITERS: Ramin Bahrani, Amir Naderi (screenplay); Ramin Bahrani, Bahareh Azimi (story)

SYNOPSIS: 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.