Such is the conundrum Ben Affleck contends with in a gripping drama that plays out like a typical crime thriller before wrongfooting viewers and pivoting to a more layered and intriguing study of right-and-wrong, of difficult decisions no one should ever have to face.
Elections are expensive, and – as an independent without major party backing – Mark has borrowed heavily to finance his run, circumstances of which only he and his trusty campaign manager and right-hand man Sam (Steven Yeun) are aware.
Enter Dayle (Gillian Anderson), an ice-cool mystery woman able to acquire the money immediately, for an eye-watering fee, and advising the Kimballs through every step of the cat-and-mouse negotiations with their boy’s captors.
As tension mounts and nerves become increasingly frayed, a surprise turn of events alters the playing field and, crucially, the pragmatic Dayle’s counsel, forcing Mark to reappraise the situation before making his next move, to secure both his family’s safety and his political future.
In addition to his terrific work as lead actor, Affleck’s contributions as both director and co-writer echo with the “big question” elements he so stylishly brought to earlier triumphs The Town, Argo and, especially, Gone Baby Gone.
Here he confidently guides viewers through a minefield of scenarios that touch on race, ambition, power, loyalty and human vulnerability, while tacitly asking his audience what would you do in Mark’s shoes?
Yeun (who co-starred with Affleck earlier in 2026 in siege thriller The Rip) may have less to do, but there are nonetheless depths to the cocksure wheeler-dealer political operative and his clandestine links to shadowy fixers whose skill set blurs the lines between what is and isn’t legal.
Although audaciously plotted, the story risks becoming too frantic in its final third, but not until we’re already hooked by what’s gone before and prepared to forgive a minor misstep or two; a small price to pay for such richly rewarding and suspenseful filmmaking.
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