Ben Affleck brings Los Angeles to the center of his new thriller Animals, which debuts Friday on Netflix. Affleck stars as mayoral candidate Mark Kimball alongside Kerry Washington, who plays his wife, Abigail. The high-stakes plot follows the couple after their son is kidnapped and a multimillion-dollar ransom is demanded, fracturing their political ambitions and their marriage.
Affleck, 54, directed the film and shares a writing credit with Connor McIntyre and Billy Ray. Speaking with the Boston Globe in a Zoom interview, the filmmaker explained how his long-standing connection with Southern California shaped the project. Although widely synonymous with Boston, Affleck noted that he has lived in Los Angeles just as long, if not longer.
Examining Marriage, Identity, and Moral Ambiguity
Affleck admits an obsession with true crime. However, he shared with Entertainment Weekly that the project appealed to him primarily because of its examination of moral ambiguity. He described the story as a Rorschach test for the audience, designed to show something honest and provocative to see how viewers react.
Marriage serves as another central theme for the filmmaker. The story prompted questions regarding what partners truly owe each other and how well they can know one another.
“How do you maintain a relationship? That’s obviously something that was on my mind,” Affleck told interviewers. “What does a marriage really require of us? How well can we know one another?”
Affleck also explored the gap between a person’s private identity and the curated version presented publicly through social media and modern life. He noted that the most compelling question focuses on what happens when the mask finally comes off and people can no longer afford to perform their identities.
Production Shifts and Star-Studded Cast
The path to the screen for Animals experienced several changes. The film was initially set to star Matt Damon as Mark, with Jennifer Garner slated to play Abigail. However, production was temporarily halted when Affleck discovered another high-profile kidnapping thriller, Highest 2 Lowest starring Denzel Washington and directed by Spike Lee, was in development at Apple. Opting not to compete directly, Affleck shelved the project.
The concept evolved when Affleck revisited the material with Artists Equity, the production company he founded with Damon. When Damon became unavailable, Affleck stepped into the lead role, and Washington joined the cast. The ensemble also features Emmy-winning and Oscar-nominated actor Steven Yeun as campaign manager Sam, and Emmy winner Gillian Anderson as Dayle, a shadowy fixer aiding the hostage negotiations.
Highlighting Class, Immigration, and Local Realities
The thriller also touches on timely themes around class and immigration, featuring Adriana Paz as housekeeper Cecilia and Luis Gerardo Méndez as her husband Ramon, an undocumented immigrant caught up in the kidnapping drama. Affleck wanted to highlight the realities of a predominantly Spanish-speaking city and explore the underlying hypocrisies between the affluent and the people they employ.
Production even intersected with real-world events in Los Angeles. Affleck noted that during filming, locations were occasionally shut down due to local ICE raids, adding a tragic and powerful backdrop to a project that ultimately mirrors complex contemporary urban dynamics.
