In ‘99 Homes’, Dennis Nash (played by Andrew Garfield) is faced with difficult moral choices as he struggles to hold onto his home-ownership dreams.

Set in the aftermath of the 2008 United States housing crisis, the movie begins with Nash working as a tradesman on building sites, and living with his son and mother.

As the American economy founders, Nash loses his job. It doesn't take long before he receives a knock on the door from the Sheriff and Mike Carver (Michael Shannon), and Nash and his family are evicted from their home. The scene is devastating to watch.

What follows is Nash's epic struggle, shaped around getting back the family home, but which leads to him to put his moral judgement aside.

After their eviction, Nash and his family live in a motel, where there are a number of other families in similar circumstances. Nash is desperate for money, and when Carver offers him work, Nash accepts. Nash is gradually entangled in Carver’s web of defrauding the government, and eventually is given the job of evicting other families from their homes.

When Nash's mother and son realise what he has been up to, they pack up in disgust, and go to live with family in Tampa. In his struggle to hold onto the property, Nash has lost the only thing more important to him - his family.

Watching the movie it occurred to me how lucky I am to live in Australia. The Australian property market was largely unaffected by America’s sub-prime mortgage crisis. And Australia was relatively protected from the worst affects of the Global Financial Crisis. Our banking system is well regulated, and our housing market is reasonably stable.

The movie tells us that home is more about people than economics. Yet, the dream to own your own home is powerful. 

By Caroline Egan 

See also:

Harry Potter's real-life home is for sale