"No Address" Review: Drama shines light on homelessness in America

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The new drama No Address attempts to shine a light on homelessness in America. It’s a complicated subject and one that isn’t easy to portray onscreen. At times, the new film tries to stuff too many elements into the story but for most of its running time, the feature tries to create a interesting tapestry of characters and it offers a compelling look at how people can lose everything and end up on the streets..

Early on, the film focuses on Lauren (Isabella Ferreira), a teenager who has aged out of the foster care system. Lauren, who lost her mother at a young age, realizes she has no place to sleep when her former foster mother locks her out of the house. Lost and alone, she wanders the dangerous streets until a chance encounter with Jimmy (Lucas Jade Zumann), a young man living on the streets.

Jimmy brings Lauren into a homeless encampment.  It’s here where screenwriters David M. Hyde, James, J. Papa and Julia Verdin present an eclectic group of individuals living on the streets. There’s no one reason why people end up living on the streets and the feature shows that there are different reasons why people face that reality.

Lauren faces homelessness because her foster mother rejected her when government benefits stopped coming through. Jimmy watched his mother suffer during an abusive relationship and couldn’t stay at home anymore. Then, there’s Dora (Beverly D’Angelo), a woman suffering from mental health issues.

One of the opponents of the homeless encampment is the gambling-addicted Robert (William Baldwin), a developer who wants to vacate the area so that he can  profit off a new investment there.       

At first, the feature focuses on Lauren’s story but then, it becomes broader in scope focusing on some of the tight-knit members of the homeless community and how they became a family living on the streets. Those relationships help keep the story compelling even when it stumbles along the way.

Director Julia Verdin does a nice job capturing the community itself but at times, she struggles to fit too many extraneous plotlines in the two-hour film. For one, a story about Violet (Ashanti), a former addict in the community, and her battling health issues seems like it was thrown into the plot without much consideration. Additionally, a storyline about a vengeful group who attacks the homeless community to seek revenge seems over-the-top.   

The feature tries to cast a light on the homeless community, who are far too often simplified in society. In doing so, it reveals that there are a number of reasons why people become homeless. From gambling addictions to drug addictions to familial issues to mental health issues, there are a number of reasons why a person’s life ends up leaving them on the streets.

At times, the story does become a bit overwhelming as it stumbles into a few soapy cliches (including William’s participation in a raid on the homeless encampment) and feels overburdened by extraneous stories but the film is still worth seeing for its interest in revealing look into the homeless community and how people can find themselves living on the streets.