Animals

"Animals" is Ben Affleck's new Netflix thriller, and he does almost everything here: he directs it, co-wrote it, and plays the lead. It went straight to the top of the Netflix chart, so I know many of you have it on your list this weekend.

Affleck plays Mark Kimball, an attorney running for mayor of Los Angeles. He has put nearly everything he owns into his campaign, and then the phone call every parent fears arrives: his son has been taken, and there are only a few hours to find the ransom. Kerry Washington plays his wife Abigail, Gillian Anderson is a mysterious fixer who offers help at a very high price, and Steven Yeun also joins the story.

To me, this film is less about a kidnapping and more about a question that stays with you: what would you do? Early on, the situation turns in a way I won't spoil, and suddenly the Kimballs have to decide whether a child's life is worth the same when the child is not their own. That is a powerful question, and it is the best part of the movie. It made me think about how easily people say the right words in public, and how different it is when the choice costs them something real.

The other thing that touched me is the family behind the headlines. Mark has been chasing success for so long that his marriage is already quietly falling apart. The crisis doesn't create those cracks, it only shows them. It is a reminder that ambition can take the place of the people we love without us even noticing, until the day we need them most.

I have to be honest, though. The movie has a strong idea and a wonderful cast, but it doesn't always know what to do with them. Many critics found it flat and less tense than it should be, and I understand why. Some conversations go on too long, and Mark spends a lot of time panicking and arguing instead of letting us feel his fear. For a film with this premise, I expected my heart to race more. Gillian Anderson is the exception. Every time she appears, cool and calm and a little frightening, the movie wakes up, and I wanted more of her.

The film is rated R for language throughout, some violence and sexual references, so it is a grown-up evening, not a family one. It is also not the kind of story that comes together like a beautiful puzzle. It is more of a moral dilemma wrapped in a political thriller, with a few twists along the way.

If you like stories that make you argue with your partner on the couch about right and wrong, or you are a fan of Ben Affleck and Gillian Anderson, "Animals" is worth a quiet night in. Just don't expect a masterpiece. What I took from it is simple: our values are not what we say on camera, they are what we choose when nobody is watching, and the people at home should never become the price of our dreams.