'99 Homes' is the best movie you didn't see last year

Last night I finally got around to seeing 99 Homes, an acclaimed drama about the cutthroat housing market that was a late dark horse Oscar contender, but never gained the kind of traction that other recent films about our post-recession age.

I'm not entirely sure why that is. I suppose every year there are strong films like this that slip through the cracks during the late year rush of quality films, which come out in a smaller window of time every year.

It's unfortunate that 99 Homes was largely overlooked, because it features one of America's greatest actors -- Michael Shannon -- in one of his best roles. This is a guy who is really on a roll right now.

It's a powerful and emotional character study and it's unflinching in its portrayal of the real world consequences of the housing crisis.

In fact, I think in many ways it's superior to The Big Short, which was a solid hit and an Oscar darling, but a little hollow and smug in my opinion. I enjoyed that movie -- don't get me wrong -- but it left me with something of a bitter aftertaste.

I think one of my major quibbles with that film was that, like so many films about the financial crisis, the villains are largely faceless, nameless suits, which represent the nefarious "banks" and in its effort to create heroes to root for, the movie romanticized a bunch of wealthy white men who got wealthier because they were smart enough to predict the impending collapse.

Andrew Garfield and Michael Shannon in 99 Homes 

99 Homes forces us -- at least to some extent -- to identify with a real monster, Rick Carver, a self-made real estate maven played by Shannon. He gets to do some real scenery chewing here, in a role that deserved to break into last year's already crowded Best Supporting Actor race. I would have gladly swapped him in for Christian Bale, but I digress.

The Carver character is not some mustache-twirling villain though. Not unlike Denzel Washington in Training Day, he has a certain seductive appeal. Although his films don't always measure up to his talent,

Shannon is a remarkably charismatic and dynamic screen presence. He has this great, taciturn delivery which demands your attention and respect. You can't discount him, and at times, you kind of find yourself agreeing with him.

Shannon's character has been a victim too, and like so many people he decides to turn his pain into a quest for profit. Andrew Garfield, on the other hand, arguably has the trickier role, as a naive, recently evicted handyman who goes into business with Shannon's character to save his family home and gets corrupted in the process.

I've always liked Garfield, he has a sort of old fashioned earnest appeal that is charming to me. I thought he deserved an Oscar nod for his work in The Social Network, and I also felt his turns as Spider-Man got a bad wrap. He is sturdy and sincere here, but this is Shannon's film through and through.

It's not a feel-good film. This is a movie that doesn't shy away from showing the faces and anguish of people directly effected by predatory real estate brokers, which The Big Short largely sidestepped. It may not be fun to watch, but it feels real.