Animals official trailer sees Ben Affleck take his familiar theme of struggling men to the political world

Netflix has released the official trailer for Animals, putting Ben Affleck back in the familiar territory of struggling men. In this political crime thriller, he's trying to keep his life together when everything starts going wrong.

But this time, that struggle takes place in the middle of a political campaign. Affleck has served as the director and writer of the feature film in which he plays the role of Mark Kimball.

He is a Los Angeles mayoral candidate whose life takes a sharp turn when his son, Denny, is kidnapped. His wife Abigail, played by Kerry Washington, is pulled into the crisis with him.

The official trailer shows how quickly the family's polished life begins to fall apart. Mark has to find a large ransom, even though much of the family's money is already tied up in his mayoral campaign.

This unexpected situation leaves Mark struggling between his responsibilities as a father and a political figure whose career is built on trust from the public. His problems won't go away, making it hard for him to keep his private problems separate from the image voters see.

More details below!

Ben Affleck brings his struggling-man character in Netflix's Animals

The trailer for Animals begins with Mark as a man torn between two versions of himself. Publicly, he is a candidate for mayor, and he must appear confident and in control.

At home, he's a husband and father who's suddenly confronted with the disappearance of his son Denny. The kidnapping also poses an immediate financial problem since much of the family's money has already been spent on Mark's campaign.

That leaves Mark and Abigail to find ways to obtain the ransom, while dealing with secrets that could hurt both their relationship and Mark’s political future. The pressure is complicated by the fact that the couple can't simply separate their personal crisis from the world encircling the campaign.

This is where Animals shifts Affleck's familiar troubled-man territory into politics. Mark's problems aren't happening in isolation; every decision can affect his reputation, his marriage, and his chances of becoming mayor.

The film consequently puts questions of morality and self-interest alongside the kidnapping thriller. Affleck has said the story interested him partly because of what extreme circumstances can reveal about people's moral choices and the compromises they make.

Animals makes Mark's private crisis part of his public image

The political backdrop adds another dimension to the story. This kidnapping threatens to reveal the reality behind the polished image Mark has tried to portray to voters during the campaign.

The same crisis pulls Abigail into the fray, forcing the couple to confront their relationship at the precise moment when appearances count the most. The supporting cast only adds to that pressure.

Gillian Anderson plays a powerful fixer with connections to kidnappings, while Steven Yeun is Mark’s campaign manager. Kerry Washington’s character, Abigail, is not only established as a character alongside Mark.

Her relationship with him is central to the film's examination of trust and the strain placed on a marriage during a crisis. Animals also had an unusually long road to the screen. Matt Damon was initially attached to star, with Affleck directing, but the project was paused after Affleck learned about Spike Lee's kidnapping drama, Highest 2 Lowest.

When Animals was revived, Damon was unavailable because of The Odyssey, leading Affleck to take the lead role. Jennifer Garner had also been considered for the wife before she and Affleck decided against the pairing, with Washington ultimately joining the film.