First Hit: Great and disconcerting story delivered by very strong acting.
The real estate game and crisis is highlighted in this film.
This film highlights families that are not able to continue paying their mortgage and get foreclosed upon. The person who takes charge of the eviction is aggressive real estate agent Rick Carver (Michael Shannon).
When he forecloses on Dennis Nash (Andrew Garfield), his mother Lynn (Laura Dern), and son Connor (Noah Lomax), Dennis finds a way to earn some money back and he hates the way he’s doing it. He now works for Carver as his right hand man.
Dennis likes the money, he likes that he’s able to provide for his son and mother, and he hates what he’s become. The film ensures the audience can, at a visceral level, relate to the people evicted from their homes. This is truly an American story.
Garfield is magnificent. He carries the greed and guilt perfectly. Shannon is perfect as the guy who has one focus, money and more of it. Dern and Lomax are great as Garfield’s mother and son. Ramin Bahrani both wrote and directed with film with a deft touch. He was able to create the sadness of loss and the greed of getting more perfectly through this screen play.
Overall: I thought this was a really good film because it reflected a true American tragedy and the acting was great.