Animals Review: ★★★☆☆ (3/5)
Animals starts with a gripping kidnapping and moves like a freight train, helped by strong supporting work from Gillian Anderson and Steven Yeun. But too many twists, loud melodrama, and a vague ending leave it feeling toothless.
Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3/5)
Platform: Netflix
Genre: Crime Thriller
Runtime: 1 hour 46 minutes
Director: Ben Affleck
Cast: Ben Affleck, Kerry Washington, Gillian Anderson, Steven Yeun
Ben Affleck knows how to build a thriller. Gone Baby Gone, The Town, and Argo proved that years ago. So when he directs, co-writes, and stars in a kidnapping story, expectations are high. Animals deliver speed and plenty of surprises, but they do not always deliver sense or bite.
Affleck plays Mark Kimball, a longshot candidate for Mayor of Los Angeles whose campaign is running out of money just days before the election. He has quietly spent the family’s savings on the race without telling his wife, Abby (Kerry Washington).
Their marriage is already strained, and both of them are hiding secrets. Still, on Halloween night, they put on a good face as their son, Denny, heads out trick-or-treating with the housekeeper.
Then the phone rings. A kidnapper demands a seven-million-dollar ransom, and Mark has to admit the money is gone. Campaign manager Sam, played by Steven Yeun, suggests a solution: a cold and clipped fixer named Dayle Burton, played by Gillian Anderson.
She can raise the cash fast, but there is a big fee, and there is no police involvement. The night is young, and the script keeps throwing new turns at the family.
The setup will feel familiar to fans of the classic Japanese film High and Low and its recent modern remake. Animals does not openly say it is related, but the bones are there.
The idea of a wealthy father facing a moral problem during a kidnapping is a strong one, and the film has enough of its own twists to stand alone.
The first half of the movie works because the kidnapping is genuinely tense. It is every parent’s nightmare, and the pressure of raising a huge sum in cash while hiding it from the world gives the story real energy. Editors William Goldenberg and Christopher Rouse keep things moving at a fast pace, so you will not be bored.
The trouble is that Animals wants to be a marriage drama, a kidnapping thriller, a political story, and a comment on race and class, all in under two hours. Tonally, it never decides which road to take.
Mark and Abby argue at top volume throughout, and some of those fights tip into over-the-top melodrama that pulls you out of the danger their son is in. A few plot choices also stretch belief, like why the police are not called sooner, or how a mayoral candidate can act so wildly without being noticed.
The cast does what it can. Gillian Anderson steals her scenes with sharp, intimidating delivery, and Steven Yeun plays the calm voice in the room well. Kerry Washington is asked to be hysterical a bit too often, and Affleck himself pushes some moments too far, which is a risk of directing yourself.
Adriana Paz and Luis Gerardo Mendez try to rise above their roles as household staff, though the writing gives them little to work with.
The biggest problem comes at the end. The film hints at bigger ideas about money, politics, and power, but it pulls its punches when it counts. Instead of a sharp, clear message, the final scenes feel open to interpretation in a way that comes across more like a cop-out than a bold choice.
Reports from the premiere suggest the film plays best with a loud crowd that talks back to the screen. On a couch at home, the cracks may show more.
Animals is entertaining enough to watch once, but it never quite becomes the smart, edgy thriller its cast and setup promise.
If you want to see where the story started, our breakdown of the Animals teaser and trailer covers what the early footage revealed. For something scarier on Netflix, our review of Below looks at Josh Hartnett’s sea horror, and if you prefer an Indian romantic drama, our review of Saale Aashiq is worth a read too.
Animals is now streaming on Netflix.