Animals

Animals is the rare case where critics and audiences are both right. The hook is superb: a mayoral candidate who has mortgaged his house for the campaign, a kidnapped son, a ransom he can no longer pay, and a few hours on the clock. It is a one-sentence pitch, and the first hour sells it well. The clock feels real and the first act is tight.

Kerry Washington is the performance to watch. She gives the panic and the compromises a weight the script often doesn't. Then Gillian Anderson walks in as a fixer who can find cash fast if you are willing to owe her, and the film wakes up. Every scene with her has an edge.

The problem is the writing. Once the premise is set, the story lurches from one desperate move to the next, and the third act is where viewers split. The most interesting idea, which I won't spoil, is a moral question the film poses and then refuses to answer cleanly: is a choice decency or calculation? That ambiguity is the best thing in it. The dialogue and plotting around it are much weaker.

Fans of Kurosawa's High and Low will notice the echo, even though the film never credits it. Ben Affleck directs, co-writes and stars, stepping in after Matt Damon left, and you can feel a production that came together in a hurry.

Verdict: a great logline stretched over 106 minutes. Watch it as a tense Saturday-night thriller and you'll have fun. Just don't expect the script to live up to the premise.