The Accountant

Movie Name: The Accountant
Year of Release: 2016

Director: Gavin O'Connor

Stars: Ben Affleck, Anna Kendrick, J.K. Simmons, Jon Bernthal, John Lithgow, Jeffrey Tambor, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Jean Smart, Andy Umberger, Robert C. Treveiller, Jason Davis, Seth Lee

Genre: Action, Crime, Drama

Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
View Trailer Here

Synopsis:

Director Gavin O'Connor second release of 2016, following the troubled "Jane Got a Gun", is an interesting view of a particular professional man, who veers off the traditional path since he's an autistic/savant/killer/accountant. The film follows the story of Christian Wolff, who is an extremely organized accountant. We come to find out he works for some large criminal associations as a hired accountant, who puts things in order in terms of financial handling. He's also a very resourceful killer since he had army training. Through a series of flashbacks, we come to realize that Christian had a very unorthodox upbringing, with his military father disciplining him and his brother very strictly, particularly due to his "high functioning autism" (and his father's need for him to integrate into society). Christian has a handler who sends him on a special project with a robotics company, who is in need of a thorough view and analysis of their accounting. This sets out a series of events that even Christian didn't foresee.
"The Accountant" is an interesting film that sets out to place an anti-hero at the center of its attention. Christian Wolff is a mix of many characters (Melvin Udall from James L. Brooks' "As Good as it Gets" springs to mind), but he manages to surpass the habitual cliches, by adding the fact that he's also a very resilient killer (imagine Anton Chigurh from "No Country for Old Men", but with more empathy and better fashion sense). The film gives enough backdrop to Christian's upbringing, and we get acquainted with his daily habits and sense of routine, something that the new project he tackles throws into disarray (with the appearance of the female figure to bring disruption into his well structured life). It's a film and a story that feels like a combination of a multitude of other films and characters, which never really becomes more than just a good exercise for a talented group of actors to flex their acting muscles. Ben Affleck, Anna Kendrick, J.K. Simmons go through the motions with consumed professionalism, while the remaining cast doesn't have much to do. It's not a bad film, but it's a quickly forgettable one.