Mark Kimball says he’s running to be Los Angeles’ next mayor because he wants to help people in the place he calls home. The folks he hopes to serve may be different, but they’ve all survived fires and other hardships and want to build the lives of their dreams during this challenging time.

“Some of the very foundations of our core values feel threatened today,” says Mark (Ben Affleck), during a speech in the opening moments of the new film “Animals.” “I believe leadership has never been more important.”

Mark’s core values and ability to lead will be tested when, seemingly, his young son is kidnapped and held for a hefty ransom, putting further strain on a marriage fraying under the stress of the campaign.

Debuting on Netflix this week, “Animals” is a thriller that’s part kidnapping drama, part relationship drama. It has something to say about the plight of an undocumented person living in the United States, as well as the difference between the truth and a narrative, and it comes complete with twists and turns.

Given all that — and the talent in the film, Affleck sharing the screen with Kerry Washington, Steven Yeun and Gillian Anderson — it’s almost shocking how often it can feel stagnant.

That said, Affleck is a talented director — while he hasn’t received an Academy Award nomination for directing, he helmed the 2012 Best Picture-winning film “Argo” — and he manages to keep “Animals” reasonably engaging through its sub-two-hour runtime.

Affleck also co-wrote the film, with Connor O. McIntyre and Billy Ray, and pulls you in early by illustrating all the pressure Mark feels. He trails in the race against L.A.’s Hispanic, female and, according to him, corrupt incumbent mayor, and his campaign is low on funds. His trusted campaign manager, Sam (Yeun), convinces him to take out a huge loan against the home he shares with his psychologist wife, Abigail (Washington), and their son, Denny (Christopher Woodley) — AND to keep it from Abby.

She, meanwhile, is having an affair, carrying around guilt even as she regularly criticizes her husband, including for not consulting her before getting a second Halloween costume for Denny.

All of that is pushed to the side when a caller, disguising his voice, says he has taken Denny while the boy was out trick-or-treating with their Mexican nanny, Cecilia (Adriana Paz, “Las Horas Muertas”), and demands $7 million — to be delivered in just a few hours — for the boy’s safe return.

The Kimballs can’t get that money, at least not that quickly, but Sam says he knows someone who can. Enter Anderson’s mysterious Dayle, who arrives at their home with the cash, to be paid back along with a $1.4 million fee. Her services include advice on how to manage the high-stakes situation.

“Animals” grows a bit more interesting when, before long, those stakes change and the Kimballs face a different choice, one with its own complications.

“Welcome to your nightmare, Mark,” the man on the phone says.

Plus, the Kimballs’ efforts to resolve the situation are complicated by the actions of Cecilia’s undocumented boyfriend, Ramon (Luis Gerardo Méndez, “The Noble Family”) — whom the Kimballs had earlier declined to hire, as his residential status could complicate things for Mark, and who is strongly tied to the ordeal.

“Animals” is an interesting little stew, and Mark is a complex-enough character, the politician seeming to care about the Hispanic population of L.A. while also being frustrated that his fluent Spanish hasn’t been enough to earn the Latino vote.

Plus, Affleck is quite good in front of the camera, as is Washington (“Scandal,” “Django Unchained”), with the two enjoying a strong chemistry in their myriad shared scenes.

And while the always enjoyable Yeun (“Minari,” “Beef”) is a tad underused, veteran actor Anderson (“The X-Files,” “The Crown”) shines, the Chicago native and London resident employing an English accent as the enigmatic and unshakable Dayle.

Affleck seems less interested in who exactly is out to get Mark and precisely why as much as he is about examining the character through the crisis, which helps “Animals” stand out from the kidnapping-movie pack.

However, its tense climactic stretch and its requisite epilogue are a little messy, although at least in part intentionally so in the name of leaving things at least a little ambiguous.

“Animals” is part of a deal Netflix has with Artists Equity, founded by Affleck and longtime buddy Matt Damon, and follows the Joe Carnahan-written-and-directed action thriller “The Rip,” which saw the “Good Will Hunting” tandem portraying cops.

Like “The Rip,” “Animals” sits above the average streaming release but leaves you with the inescapable belief there was a better film to be cooked up given all the ingredients.

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‘ANIMALS’

2.5 stars (out of 4)

MPA rating: R (for language throughout, some violence and sexual references)

Running time: 1:46

How to watch: Netflix

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