4) Michael Shannon in 99 Homes
Is there an actor more charismatic and just plain watchable in contemporary cinema than Michael Shannon? Judging by Ramin Bahrani’s American housing crisis drama 99 Homes, the answer’s probably a no. You simply can’t take your eyes off Shannon, whether he’s an everyman in Take Shelter, or a wild man in The Runaways, or a sociopath in The Iceman. In 99 Homes, though, he’s something else.
In Bahrani’s film, Shannon is a modern-day monster: smooth, callous, avaricious, and totally embraced by a society that values greed over everything else. He’s an e-cigarette-puffing douchebag throwing people out of their homes without a care in the world, all as long as he continues to make his fortune and keep himself from ever becoming another ‘loser’.
So how come we can’t help but find such a person so utterly compelling? It’s all down to Shannon, making it look like the easiest, most natural and most fun thing in the world to be a complete bastard.