iTunes Exclusive Episode 99 Homes
Rob and Don discuss the film 99 Homes, starring Andrew Garfield, Michael Shannon, and Laura Dern, which follows a man who loses his home to foreclosure and then begins working for the realtor evicting him. While praising the performances and the film's gritty portrayal of real evictions, Rob critiques the pacing, editing, and script, particularly feeling the final third of the film falls flat and fails to generate sympathy for Garfield's character.
About this episode
Key takeaways
- The performances by Garfield, Shannon, and Dern are strong, with Shannon compared to Willem Dafoe in presence and intensity
- The film effectively captures the harsh reality of evictions and foreclosures with emotional weight, particularly in a scene involving an elderly man
- Editing issues with ADR (dialogue looping) and script problems undermine the film despite solid acting throughout
- The final third of the film loses momentum and fails to maintain the engagement and emotional investment of the first 90%
Q&A
What is the plot of 99 Homes?
A man living in his childhood home with his mother and son falls behind on mortgage payments and is evicted by realtor Rick Carver. He then begins working for Carver, leading him down a morally complicated path.
How does Rob compare Michael Shannon's performance?
Rob says Michael Shannon is like the new Willem Dafoe, with that same creepy intensity and vibe, and would have been cast in this role if the film were made 15 years ago.
What scene particularly resonated with Rob emotionally?
The eviction of a nearly 90-year-old man with dementia hit him hard as someone who worked in probation and had to make difficult professional decisions affecting people's lives.
Read Transcript
The following is a sooner orgator production. The following is a sooner orgator production. The following is a sooner orgator production.
If you can hear the sound of my voice, it means the following conditions have been met. It means at least once in your life you have listened to the clubhouse podcast. If I didn't have my house, I probably wouldn't have my studio.
But I'm not alone for this particular episode, joining me across the desk is a man where he lays his hat at his home. You may know I'm as fond, don't go. I'll save the empire for me trying to sing.
It's called 99 Homes, Andrew Garfield, Michael Shen and Laura Dern. He's a great cast in this thing, but before we begin, we have to thank Ashden, everybody at Marock. We love them.
He lives in the house that he grew up in, but they're working on paying off alone they got against their house from the bank. This is with his mom, a play by Laura Dern and his child. They get a little bit behind in their payments and the court orders them to be evicted.
One day, a guy shows up at his door by the name of Rick Carver, played by the great Michael Shannon. Of course, great actor. He shows up to evict Dennis and Lynn and Connor from their home.
But through some happenstance, Dennis ends up working for Rick and things go down the rabbit hole from there, questions of morality, questions of integrity. You'd be a perfect politician, but that's as far as I'm willing to go, because there's a lot going on here, because every decision he makes affects him on a much bigger scale than he realizes. So I want to first talk about, I mean, the look of the film is what it is.
The special needed, but let's talk about Barani's direction of his character's don't go ahead. This one got real interesting, some people talking to other critics and people who saw this at the press screening. Friends of ours in the press.
Yeah, it acquaintances you name it. Some people didn't like Garfield in this. I thought it fit perfect, because he had that same kind of emotion in the social network.
You think about it, you know, those scenes when you know at the end where he has to sue, because he gets, you know, nicked out the company and all that and how emotional the same thing happens here. With the vision of these actors, I mean, Lord Dern, everything from mask to the list goes on and on. The second generation superstar is the kids like that.
And in the scene, how all three of them handled it at the beginning when they get evicted it from their home, even how Shannon acts in a police officers, how Dern was just. What do you do in that situation? She was incredible in that aspect, that thought same with Garfield too.
And the same machine and how he's just a, I'm a businessman. I have some emotion. I have some human size to me, but not much.
Pure business for me. I thought that the, I thought the approach, the acting was good. One of my issues from this comes from the editing of this film.
And this is something that we don't really talk about much on this show. Before we do that, I want to give a go to hold the time. One thing on the acting, I want to put in is, if you go to my written review at the cobbastpodcast.com.
As my starting star of the non-major roles goes to Timothy McGinney. Tim McGinney, um, if you go to Egy, but you're a. Yeah.
Yeah, he he was a man who's going through the process now. And Garfield sees it coming. He played that role perfectly.
Especially at the end. And that's being spoiler free. The basic end of the movie.
How he acted, I thought he had a park on that. Now back to the editing though. The editing for me was a little wonky in this because For those of you that don't know how how movies work a lot of times when you film something You have to go back into a studio in post-production into what they call ADR or looping Where you basically have to re-record your dialogue because there's people that are driving around There are playing comes over during a really good take Which everybody does it?
I mean, it's not it's Hollywood 101. However A lot of the ADR work didn't match what was going on from a from a dialogue standpoint And I noticed it a handful of times in this film, but the editing just didn't quite click for me from an ADR standpoint But I also did not feel this was a strong script. I felt that the last probably third of the movie took forever There was a lot of me going where is the chase and how can I cut to it?
I thought the performances were great. Oh, yeah. I thought Garfield was great I thought Michael Shannon's Michael Shannon.
Yeah, I mean this guy has creepy down to an art form and turn plates Yeah, I said I said in my written review which is at wwww dot the clubhouse podcast dot com, which is our website Michael Shannon is the new willem to faux If they made this movie 15 years ago willem to faux would be in that role and and that's not a slide on Michael Shannon If it's anything for me, it's a compliment because I'm a huge willem to faux fan and I think that Michael Shannon just has that same kind of a vibe I don't felt like he was channeling to faux, but he has that same vibe to him that I absolutely love But I just think both of these guys had to do and Laura during as well They had they did the best they could with the script they had I just at nope once the thing started rolling I felt no sympathy for Garfield's character at all Because it wasn't I to me it was like they were trying to make a new version of wall street But at least with wall street you kind of had a little bit of sympathy for butt fox Yeah, he got himself into it, but he was doing everything he could he could get himself out of it Dennis Nash and dare like I'll do it sure go kick something else. I'm in and I just never felt like Things had gotten so out of control that I felt bad for him that he was gonna try to dig himself out of it There was no sympathy and that could be the way it was written but I need at least some kind of sympathy apathy doesn't work for me when I see a film like for a character like Michael Shannon's Yeah, you have to not Care for him. He's supposed to be a jerk.
He's supposed to be that but I also didn't see him as like the villain character He's just the guy that was like look this is out there. You want to do it roll you don't find by me But I think maybe they're trying to do a different style than the norm with Garfield It's possible, but it just didn't work for me. Okay from a writing standpoint again the performances I thought were great Lord Darn She gets a little over the top sometimes, but that's just kind of the story of her career.
Yeah, she's she's great in some respects and in others You kind of go hmm She had a couple of moments in here where we were borderlining on Patricia Clarkson. I don't know hey, but For me, I thought she was good I really thought that Garfield and Shannon were we're spot on. I liked Genie's performance Probably not as much as you did, but I thought he was good I think there was a little it it floored it with over the top for me But I thought it was that that last scene I thought was well done.
Oh, I think he handled for what anybody Some people it's true life now Do your point on the flow of the film and apply it like you were talking earlier the last there didn't work for you The the last maybe 10% did not work for me. Okay the first 90% Perfect in my opinion. So you kind of felt how I felt about fantastic four Yeah, I got all built up in and then oh yeah the how they ended it I think did it horribly on They just left so many units answered questions of course we're being spoiler free here But through the first 90% I was into this film and Probably because in some ways it kind of hit home to me Because this film is gritty this is this film is hard to watch It will hit you in a gut it will hit you emotionally But in a good way a very good way and and how I say is there are people out there who do this for a living in real life There are repo men me as a probation officer There were some people who sent who got sent down to prison who I didn't think should have got sent down to prison But you know what is my job and I had to do it and there's some tough there some jobs out there where you have to do tough things That's just life unfortunately and there was it really when I was watching this kind of hit home is the And man, I did maybe think of those times where there's like Those times as a PO where it's like I had to do some very tough things But it was so real life Of what really happens when you watch this film You know in these chairs like you know officers come to the house With the guy I say and guess what you have five minutes to grab your stuff and get out I'll do you got we're gonna put you in cups and how the people react It is gritty and tough to watch but it done in a very good way I will say that I don't it was less intense than I thought it was going to be for me wasn't it?
It was a but it still Because I was expecting to be just very squirmy Watching this because from the trailer it the trailer made me uncomfortable The film itself didn't make me as uncomfortable as I thought it was going to be I thought it stretched out a little bit too much like there were times where I was like hey, okay I get it. This is the deal. You know But there's one scene and this is you know pretty spoiler free minor spoiler or three two don't say the one Where they evict a Elit very elderly man almost put the mention you could say out of the house That was a tough scene, but man.
I was so glad they put that in there Because that's the gut bomb part of the job. I mean When they when they go Do you have a sunny kek on though neighbors? No, and this is like a 90-year-old guy at dementia Well, let's take you to the red cross.
I mean that really just Really hit me emotionally on that, but I'm very good way because let's talk it. That's reality Yeah, that is a reality and I thought they shield reality so well in this film Of here's the dark side welcome to real life That's why I really enjoyed about the film. I just I didn't have the take away that you did.
Yeah, I just didn't and that's that's what we're here for Exactly exactly Anything else you want to you talk about this thing guys? um No, I think I think I got most I The ending again That's where it bombed for me. I just To the Allie bit at that We'll get to the final analysis them the way to the final analysis on the show We don't give you thumbs-up thumbs down.
We don't give you a letter grades We don't give you a one to ten scale. We don't do any of that stuff our audience who we will affectionately refer to as the empire is better than that We're gonna ask two questions question number one is would you see this film again if the answer is no then we're done here The answer is yes, then it becomes how far are you willing to go? We pay full price to see in first run Will you see the twilight maybe a matinee maybe early morning on a weekend?
Would you wait for the dollar theater in second run? Would you venture out to a red box to get it? Would you stream it through Netflix or would you just watch it on cable?
Don would you see this film again? It's a definite yes. Okay.
How far you want to go? I'll be asked with you watching this film and right before that last 10 percent I was thinking coveted full price this might make my top ten of the year really but after After the last ending I it knocked it down to off my top ten list and two a twilight Wow, yeah, it was it was leading to that but they just You know, oh, you're as a finish line. Let's hit the brick wall for me I'm going to say yes.
I would see it again Barely really Running opposites on this one my whole thing is if you're at home and There's nothing else on cable and it's on and you absolutely have to watch something Didn't watch this like even if like You don't want to even listen to music or read a book, but you want to just watch there's something on your TV that has to be there Then okay, and you're bored of the home shopping network, but don't don't go out of your way in my personal opinion I'd say see it, but you know that's what we're here for Exactly and again we got to think asked in everybody at Maroc For inviting us to this thing such great people. Thank you so much guys It's right around an hour fifty two minutes long. It is rated R for good reason So be prepared for the language therein and there are some great you see especially beginning there's there's some grit moments that opening senior just like Okay, this Well, even at that all right, you ready?
Yes, see the plugs visit our website WWW dot the clubhouse podcast dot com find out everything you need to know and some stuff you don't Like our Facebook page Look up the clubhouse podcast on Facebook put the word podcast on the address and then completely different Follow us on Twitter at Clubhouse show you can follow me on Twitter and Instagram handles the same Yes, that rob urban that is both ERV. I end my normal co-host for this show is Chad Wamick You can follow him on Twitter at chat npg69 I'm at fondango and you can email me at dawn at the clubhouse podcast dot com and real quick early happy anniversary to you I love the opening for this this film weekend will be the 12th wedding anniversary for myself and the lovely and talented misses urban And you just completely blew my wheels off Email done for information on how we can come to a live remote show for you because that's how we roll You can email with me with questions comments concerns somebody go out and say and I am rob at the clubhouse podcast dot com Chad is Chad at the clubhouse podcast dot com share of a parker is on Pinterest because we are morally obligated to say that And jewels Wamick just probably just chillin with her husband our normal show every Sunday night 70s from four Pacific is your one stop shop for all things sports entertainment Where you can listen live or just keep subscribing on iTunes because you get everything So until next time for Don for the Empire. I'm Rob clubhouse's close You try to evict a pretty palma good luck with all max The preceding was a sooner or greater production