Unfortunately, some movies are made with seemingly good intentions and just turn out to be really, really bad. Julia Verdin’s No Address is one such film, purporting to shed light on the homelessness epidemic. Instead, it falls short with cringe-worthy dialogue, weird artistic choices, and an obvious religious agenda. The movie never unpacks the complexities of homelessness but instead uses its bloated runtime to portray its unhoused protagonists as devoted Christians and also skilled street fighters who overcome their struggles with prayer, a plucky attitude, and a little help from their friends.
What Is ‘No Address’ About?

On the day she graduates from high school, teenager Lauren (Isabella Ferreira) is kicked out of her house by her foster mother, left with the clothes on her back, two garbage bags of stuff, and, you guessed it, no address. As she struggles to find food and safety on the streets, Lauren stumbles across an encampment where she meets Jimmy (Lucas Jade Zumann), a young boy who left home to escape abuse. Jimmy introduces Lauren to his found family at the encampment — Harris (Xander Berkeley), Violet (Ashanti), and Dora (Beverly D’Angelo) — who each have their own stories. Meanwhile, a parallel story follows Robert (William Baldwin), a gambling addict struggling to provide for his family while working for a company that wants to take down the encampment to put up condos. Eventually, the stories converge when Robert’s lifestyle catches up with him, and he finds himself seeking shelter in the very place he helped destroy.
To the credit of everyone involved in this movie, it’s true that people experiencing homelessness are egregiously overlooked. Passersby avert their eyes and cross the street to avoid people sitting on the road asking for spare change, with many not realizing that they’re one bad break away from ending up there themselves. But, ultimately, No Address never properly addresses the issues it brings up.
‘No Address’ Makes Bizarre Creative Choices

Image via Robert Craig Films

No Address’ core message about community and resilience is powerful, but the movie’s themes are diminished by some questionable creative choices. Music cuts abruptly, sound effects are included sporadically and ineffectively, and one moment that should arguably be the film’s most heartbreaking is instead made laughable through a befuddling, jarring shot. Narration by Lauren makes the film feel tacky rather than poignant, and also further confuses things when it’s unclear if she’s talking to the audience, her dead mother, God, or perhaps all of the above. An overly sentimental score plays underneath most of the movie, making it feel more akin to a cloying PSA with Sarah McLachlan singing somberly in the background. The subject matter is serious enough as it is, but No Address’ heavy-handed approach to sentimentality undercuts any semblance of a genuine moment.
In terms of performances, No Address is, to put it gently, inconsistent. Isabella Ferreira gives a solid, emotional performance, as does Xander Berkeley. The rest of the lead cast is fine, but seasoned pros Beverly D’Angelo and William Baldwin are surprisingly ineffective in their roles. While many great movies opt for a “show, don’t tell” approach, No Address goes for more of a “tell, then show, then tell once more in case it wasn’t clear the first time.”

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This issue extends to the performances, making some characters feel unbelievable. For example, Baldwin’s Robert shows an obvious disdain for unhoused people right off the bat, seemingly to hit home the film’s idea that homelessness can even happen to those you least expect. The company that Robert works for wants to destroy an encampment and put up condos and retail locations in its place. When Violet comes up to Robert’s car trying to sell flowers, he yells at her and literally wipes her fingerprints off his BMW with disgust because he “just had it detailed!” Other eye-roll-inducing lines like Jimmy’s “I don’t have much, but I always have my word,” don’t help the characters feel any more realistic.

To be fair, No Address does some things well in its portrayal of homelessness. The movie shows how people can become unhoused for all sorts of reasons, like abuse, mental health struggles, or precarious employment, and that homelessness truly can happen to anybody. The characters in the movie are not solely defined by the fact that they’re experiencing homelessness. For example, Harris is an artist and Jimmy is a musician, and this allows for more well-rounded stories. However, the effort to portray unhoused people honestly pretty much ends there. The movie’s costuming is particularly interesting, in that it’s presumably set in California, yet everyone is dressed like they’re weathering winter in the Great White North.
No Address was largely shot in Sacramento, and with the story beginning when Lauren is graduating, we can assume that the movie takes place mostly in late spring and early summer. However, every time we see an unhoused character, they’re rocking an extra three layers of clothing. This makes a bit more sense when a character like Lauren is immediately forced to carry all her belongings on her back, but later on, when we meet characters who have been settled in an encampment for some time, it’s confusing to see them donning jackets, fingerless gloves, and thick, knitted caps during a sunny, California afternoon. In addition to frequently pulling switchblades and huddling around flaming trash cans, No Address’ costuming seems to be painting a picture of what the audience thinks an unhoused person should look like rather than portraying them with accuracy and nuance.

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There are also multiple instances throughout the movie where the characters have the opportunity to go to shelters or get jobs and turn these down because they want their group to remain intact. In real life, there are a multitude of reasons why people experiencing homelessness may stay on the streets rather than go to shelters, with fears of violence, theft, or unhygienic conditions being just a few. However, No Address never really gets into these issues. Instead, the group refuses to be separated in shelters because “family sticks together,” and it’s implied (but never explained) that Lauren has had a bad experience in a shelter. By not actually diving into the problems that keep people from seeking shelter off the streets, No Address makes homelessness seem like an active choice for these characters, rather than the complicated result of two dangerous options.
At the end of the movie, the characters all have somewhere to live and find a higher purpose by opening their own shelter. As nice as this is, it also provides the group with a simple solution to a very difficult problem, diminishing the barriers faced by people who have actually experienced homelessness.
‘No Address’ Has an Obvious Religious Agenda

Image via Robert Craig Films

Finally, it’s obvious pretty early on that No Address is a faith-based film. Scripture is spray-painted around the encampment, and characters frequently turn to prayer when things get particularly hard. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this. There are plenty of churches that do great work for people experiencing homelessness, and the characters find hope and community through prayer. However, No Address gives the faint impression that there is a path out of homelessness… but only if you’re Christian.
In the movie, good Samaritan Gabrielle (Patricia Velásquez) works at the Downtown City Mission and is one of the few people in the community who seems to care about the well-being of the unhoused population. She’s a trusted ally of Jimmy and his friends, and, of course, a woman of faith. Characters are frequently seen praying during hard times, and at the end of the movie, Robert reunites with his cross-wearing wife and son at the Salvation Army (which, apart from the “Haven for Hope” that the characters open at the end of the movie, seems to be the only charitable organization that exists). In the final moments of Lauren’s narration, she implores the audience to do what they can to help unhoused people, saying that God “might be working a miracle through you.” This is an instance of the film’s religious overtones skewing the narrative because it implies that you should be kind and generous because God calls on you to do so, not simply because it’s the right thing to do.
Beyond its problematic implications, No Address just isn’t a good movie. Set to be released alongside an accompanying documentary and book, this film feels more like a way to peddle Christianity under the guise of good faith, made worse by confusing creative choices and a painful lack of self-awareness.
No Address releases in theaters on February 28.

No Address

‘No Address’ aims for meaningful commentary but falls woefully short, adding nothing to the conversation surrounding homelessness.

Release Date

February 27, 2025

Director

Julia Verdin

Writers

Julia Verdin, James J. Papa

Producers

Lucas Jade Zumann

Pros & Cons

‘No Address’ does its best to show the different circumstances that can lead to homelessness

The movie fails to address many of the complexities of the homelessness epidemic
Jarring cinematic choices feel out of place and make emotional moments feel laughable
‘No Address’ feels more like a vehicle for promoting Christianity than raising awareness about homelessness