Ben Affleck Directs a Thriller About a Mayoral Candidate Whose Son Is Kidnapped

Animals, Ben Affleck’s new film, arrives on Netflix and in select cinemas on 9 October. Once again he both directs and stars, playing Mark Kimball, a Los Angeles mayoral candidate whose son is kidnapped.

Kerry Washington plays his wife. Affleck wrote the screenplay with Connor McIntyre and Billy Ray, and Matt Damon produces. The film comes from Artists Equity, the company Affleck and Damon founded together.

What the film is about

Mark Kimball’s son is abducted in the middle of the election campaign. His parents have just a few hours to find the ransom, but the campaign money is already spent. To save their child, the couple have to get their hands dirty and expose a side of their lives they never meant anyone to see.

Who is in it

• Ben Affleck as Mark Kimball;
• Kerry Washington as Abigail, his wife;
• Christopher Woodley as Denny Kimball, the kidnapped son;
• Gillian Anderson, Steven Yeun, Ray Fisher, Adriana Paz and Luis Gerardo Méndez.

Behind the camera

This is Affleck’s sixth feature as director, after Gone Baby Gone, The Town, Argo, Live by Night and Air. The cinematographer is Robert Elswit, who won an Oscar for There Will Be Blood. William Goldenberg and Christopher Rouse edited the film, and Harry Gregson-Williams wrote the music.

The project was announced in January 2024, but filming was delayed several times. Production finally began on 7 March 2025 in Los Angeles. The running time is 106 minutes.

When to watch

Animals premieres on Netflix and in select cinemas on 9 October. There are no reviews yet at the time of publication. Cast and stills are on the film’s page in our AMDB database.