Movie Review: In Ben Affleck’s ‘Animals,’ a Kidnapping Threatens a Mayoral Campaign – WTOP News
The Netflix film follows a Los Angeles mayoral race after a $7 million ransom demand exposes family secrets and campaign pressure.
- Ben Affleck's new Netflix thriller 'Animals' debuts Friday, transposing Akira Kurosawa's 'High and Low' kidnapping drama to Los Angeles politics and a heated mayoral race.
- Mark Kimball, an independent mayoral candidate, pledges transparency but has exhausted his campaign savings, leaving him vulnerable when kidnappers demand $7 million for his son, Denny.
- Following advice from campaign manager Sam, the couple hires crisis fixer Dayle Burton to secure funds, only to discover kidnappers inadvertently seized the son of their housekeeper, Cecilia.
- The film explores themes of duplicity and public persona, exposing simmering domestic conflicts between Mark and his wife, Abigail, under intense political and personal pressure.
- Using Los Angeles as a microcosm for socioeconomic tension, 'Animals' attempts to match the critical success of Affleck's directorial work 'Air,' though reviews characterize this release as narratively uneven.
12 Articles
12 Articles
Movie Review: In Ben Affleck’s ‘Animals,’ a kidnapping threatens a mayoral campaign – WTOP News
We have now gotten two remakes of Akira Kurosawa’s “High and Low,” and yet not a single new rendition of “Stray Dog.” Lamentable though that imbalance may be — you may have your own Kurosawa favorite — it’s not hard to see the contemporary appeal of 1963’s “High and Low.” It’s an ingenious plot. A...
Ben Affleck’s New Netflix Kidnapping Thriller Animals Tests the Moral Boundaries of Its Haves and Have Nots Characters
The new Netflix thriller Animals is tautly directed by Ben Affleck, who keeps the emphasis on the characters’ flawed humanity. None of the choices available to the protagonists are good ones, and the many “what would you do in this scenario?” questions the film poses keep the story compelling when the kidnapping plot itself ventures into formula.
‘Animals’ Review: Ben Affleck’s Tedious New Netflix Thriller Is Quite Literally Just Bad TV
The director of "Argo" and "The Town" also stars as an embattled mayoral candidate in an LA kidnapping movie that lacks the visual flair and propulsive storytelling of his other work.
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