The Accountant

Christian Wolff, played by Ben Affleck, is a wickedly smart mathematician who is an accountant by day and, if the event calls for it, a bad-ass book cooker/killing machine by night. The Accountant is ultimately an incredible character study on a man who suffers from autism and is taught, rather harshly, to control his condition rather than let it hinder his ability to live life 'normally'. It weaves pertinent moments in Christian’s life that shaped the man he became with the present day as he investigates a company and its missing money. 

Anna Kendrick‘s portrayal of Dana Cummings, the woman who initially notices discrepancies in this company - headed by John Lithgow - is convincing and her chemistry with Affleck was surprisingly more believable than I had imagined it would be. However, the real standouts was Affleck. He managed to encompass everything about his character, the bad and the good, allowing audiences to invest in the story. There were scenes in which we saw moments of self harm that were tense and at times difficult to watch but  seemed to be perfectly within the films scope of violence and brought the focus back to the subplot of mental illness. The Accountant’s emphasis on it's main character, Christian Wolff, is explored brilliantly. A major critique of the film was that the various plot points were difficult to follow. Whilst I agree that one or two moments could have been explained in more detail to conceive a more rounded story, the film as a whole was captivating and well paced. 

The film thankfully does not try to glamorize mental illness. Instead it portrays autism and individuals who live with such disabilities in an honest and unforgiving light. There was no obviously disrespectful portrayal, intended to shock the audience rather than add depth to the characters. Gavin O’Connor, the director, manages to showcase the action sequences in a riveting way, with not as many fast cuts or camera tricks reminiscent of realist directors. This approach is more appropriate, in my opinion, when depicting topics and characters that are unfortunately still taboo in our society. The power of the film was left instead to the tense buildup sequences before an action shot. 

A powerful film that would suit audiences who don't typically enjoy the action genre, The Accountant was full of surprises - the most impressive of which was Affleck's believability and likeability.