Animals, 2026.
Directed by Ben Affleck.
Starring Ben Affleck, Kerry Washington, Steven Yeun, Gillian Anderson, Adriana Paz, Luis Gerardo Méndez, Ray Fisher, Matt Gerald, Mark Kassen, Christopher Woodley, George Todd McLachlan, Chris Gann, and Taylor Cooper.
SYNOPSIS:
Desperate to pay their son’s ransom, a mayoral candidate and his wife resort to extreme measures, revealing dark secrets they never intended to bring to light.
How Ben Affleck’s Animals (the star also directs and co-writes alongside Connor O. McIntyre and Billy Ray) got away without any credits attributing Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low as, at the very least, a source of inspiration is a mystery almost as great as what the film actually uses AI for here, and why the filmmaker felt compelled to go that route when the intense kidnapping drama thrives on thorny humans and politics. Yes, Ben Affleck admitted that he used the technology for “all sorts of things”, which will be condemned as such here (more unnervingly, it’s untraceable what for), as no filmmaker should be embracing generative tools (it’s also worth playing devil’s advocate and noting that, perhaps, it was a more respectful utilization as a tool that didn’t take away any human jobs), but the story itself is a riveting spin on that aforementioned classic (which Spike Lee did a tremendous job modernizing last year).
This time, the basic setup is transferred into the world of politics, specifically an upcoming mayoral election race for Mark Kimball (Ben Affleck), campaigning as an independent and on the verge of swaying the odds in his favor. All he needs is a bit more Hispanic trust and to spend a bit more money. What’s not helping is that he has cold feet about getting his nanny Cecelia’s (Adriana Paz) undocumented husband, Ramon (Luis Gerardo Méndez), some ranching work, spouting progressive beliefs while cowardly worrying about whatever consequences could come his way if he breaks the law, even if it’s for a good cause.
With the money, he is also hiding from his wife, Abigail (Kerry Washington) – who is lost and depressed by his need to be loved by the whole world rather than her being good enough, now having an affair behind his back (a mostly wasted role played by Ray Fisher) – that they have essentially lost almost all their savings to his political ambitions. He believes everything will be fine if he gets elected, making taking out the remaining cash a high-stakes gamble.
Set on Halloween, Mark’s son Denny (Christopher Woodley) goes trick-or-treating with his friends, chaperoned by the nanny, her husband, and their child, which is where the plot of High and Low takes center stage. Here, once that first major twist is revealed – which comes while exhausting all available options with an advisor played by Steven Yeun and an icy mafioso fixer giving lessons in the art of leverage in negotiations, played by Gillian Anderson – it puts a bleak, cynical spin on how those choices forward change, with dicey racial implications that could either turn into a benefit for Mark or further send his world spiraling. Then there is the fact that if any of this is going to be solved successfully, the secrets between Mark and Abigail have to surface and be discussed head-on, since they could relate to the kidnapping motive.
It’s not that Mark is enthused by a mistake on the kidnapper’s part, paving an advantageous lane for political heroism. The reality is that he doesn’t know who he can trust, including his wife. Still, the circumstances naturally present morally tricky opportunism, not necessarily in a manner that reflects poorly on Mark’s character but on systemic American justice and racism. Even without fully being in the know, one can’t blame Cecelia and Ramon for not knowing if they can even trust him, as all of his progressive beliefs so far, at least towards the betterment of Hispanics, have been all talk and not much action, although he is responsible for some environmental cleanup that had the unfortunate side effect of shuttering some smaller businesses.
As different, and fittingly animalistic, sides emerge in these characters, Affleck’s film also maintains supercharged engagement, even with familiar narrative beats. However, it gradually earns some justification for not being labeled a straight-up remake, as it is thoroughly concerned with its characters and politics rather than a shot-for-shot redo. Some elements are a tad overcooked (namely the marital drama, which comes across as cringe in a couple of moments; no offense Ben, but you think a filmmaker who has been in several failed relationships wouldn’t resolve that so quickly and cleanly), but Animals is otherwise an undeniably suspenseful riff on a classic with taut hostage thrills, slyly demonstrating a cynical brokenness in American politics.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder
