The Accountant

Year: 2016
Genre: Action
Directed: Gavin O'Connor
Stars: Ben Affleck, Anna Kendrick, J.K. Simmons, Jon Bernthal, Jeffrey Tambor, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, John Lithgow, Jean Smart, Andy Umberger, Alison Wright, Jason Davis, Robert C. Treveiler, Seth Lee, Jake Presley
Production: Warner Bros.

Christian Wolff (Affleck) has a secret. Behind the cover of an unassuming CPA office, the otherwise resourceful and bashful math savant works free-lance for some of the world's most nefarious criminal enterprises in the world. Yemen, Pakistan, New York, London, no matter where the man goes, there's simply no balance book too unclean nor any employer too dangerous for Wolff not to find missing money. Those recalcitrant enough to think he knows too much, end up at the business end of an anti-aircraft gun.

Yet this is only part of the story of Christian Wolff, as hinted in the puzzle-piece graphics of the film's brilliant trailer. One thing we get to know almost straight away is Wolff is somewhere on the spectrum. Asperger's, PDD, high-functioning autism; "I prefer not to put a label on things," says Jason Davis's neurologist character as young Chris (Lee) jostles in the background. Convenient; now we can assume Wolff's abilities to uncooked 15 years of books in a single afternoon, kill an assailant with a J. Crew bridle belt and find the works of Jackson Pollock stimulating are all functions of his un-categorized disorder.

I think this movie is a little dated, a little dated...

Now in fairness to the film, Hollywood hasn't exactly had a stellar track record when it comes to giving autistic characters moments in the limelight, even when they're being portrayed with a modicum of sympathy or humanity. To give credit where credit is due, The Accountant does a good job differentiating between the attributes of Chris's disorder with the skills he has ascertained through years of tutelage from his roughneck father (Treveiler). As exploitative as the film could have been, I give props to writer Bill Dubuque for not making our entrenched protagonist an autism powered super assassin but rather a gifted assassin who also processes the world differently.

Nice boat, be a shame if something were to happen to it...

Yet the film also seems to want to add more to the soup adding layers of espionage thriller dramatics, murder mystery reveals and oddly familiar flashbacks which all seem to serve different masters. Much of the film diverts attention between Wolff and blackmailed Treasury analyst Marybeth Medina (Addai-Robinson) who is coaxed by Director King (Simmons) to find the mystery accountant. The buildup in itself is alright but the backlog of reveals and plot-twists culminates in one fifteen minute exposition drop that capsizes the film like throwing a brick at a miniature sailboat.

Meanwhile the mystery afoot in The Accountant involves Wolff's newest freelance job which has him investigating biomedical pioneer Lamar Black (Lithgow) and his company. While initially a mundane audit job, Wolff finds himself in a web of intrigue that ensnares the company's board of directors, a sinister security force and a salaried accountant (Kendrick) who first uncovered the can of worms.

So you're telling me I should invest in fixed rate commodities?

Again, the mystery in itself could have worked if it lent itself more organically to the character. Unfortunately the unexpected Michael Clayton (2007) milieu only made me want to see Wolff's less legitimate work all the more. It'd be one thing if Wolff was a pedestrian CPA with Asperger's, who was suddenly thrust into a plot of corporate intrigue. Yet knowing that the man has a clientele that includes terrorists, drug cartels, the mob and a suspiciously quaint melon farmer, I kept expecting bigger fish to come swimming up.

Overall, The Accountant is a skillfully done semi-decent thriller that could have done infinitely better if it defined what it was early and kept its focus. Is it a cerebral mystery, a ballsy action flick, a family drama, a cautionary tale, a morality play, an excuse to commend Ben Affleck's range; certainly it can be all. But sadly it settles for being a knower of all and a master of none.

Final Grade: C-