The Accountant

This review may contain spoilers!

A unique and supremely satisfying take on the classic action film. I would give The Accountant a 7.5/10.

This film has an interesting mystery surrounding corporate theft and assassinations, throughout which the film's protagonist battles a small band of mercenaries in a bid to save both his life and the lives of the innocents who are caught up in the middle of his dealings.It's the main 'accountant' character who really sets this film apart from a standard action film, a mentally disabled hero who is no lesser for his disability but instead allows for a more unique form of story. The plot examines his current life as an accountant for various criminal and legal corporations, while also developing a backstory for him and another perspective upon the FBI investigation into him. All in all what develops is an interesting story around a rather unique vigilante figure. The cinematography also looks really nice and crisp, with a tendency to play around with unique stylish shots. The score backed most scenes very well and got quite intense near the end; the soundtrack was also brilliant, in particular 'To Leave Something Behind' by Sean Rowe.

Anna Kendrick, who played Dana Cummings, was a really vibrant if not quite nervous supporting character; Kendrick's capacity to be both energetic yet deliver dramatic lines in a very natural way made for a great performance. J.K. Simmons, who played Ray King, can just deliver exposition and leave you hanging on every word; his blunt no-holds barred approach really worked in his portrayal as a leading figure within the FBI. Jon Bernthal, who played Brax, was clearly having a lot of fun in his scenes yet still created a figure who emanated danger; I loved the instant chemistry he had with Affleck when it was revealed their characters were brothers. Cynthia Addai-Robinson, who played Marybeth Medina, gave quite a muted performance in this film; Addai-Robinson was careful in constructing a calm character who became passionate as she grew closer to solving her case. Alison Wright, who played Justine, portrays living with a mental disorder even better than Affleck does; I enjoy the fact that her voice work makes such a strong presence and that by the end of the film her physical performance is able to match this. Seth Lee, who played Young Chris, does a great job of portraying living with autism as a child; you get some very intense scenes as you witness the extremes he had to live through in life. Ron Prather and Susan Williams, who played Frank Rice and Dolores Rice respectively, were a rather charming intro to the film; their kind-natured and even humourous roles made a good impression throughout the film.

However the best performance came from Ben Affleck, who played Christian Wolff. I think it takes a lot to portray something as ridiculous sounding as an autistic accountant assassin but Affleck not only knocks it out of the park, but he develops a very positive message about disability. The tendencies of living with autism are well portrayed, nervous movements, difficulty with interacting socially, avoiding eye contact; all of which Affleck maintains throughout the feature. I liked seeing him admit to his desire to connect with others, and indeed his connection with Kendrick, Wright and Bernthal make for some of the best scenes of the film. Ultimately he also makes for a great action performer, dealing out some brilliant fight sequences and shoot outs.

The plot is disconcerting at times the way it jumps between four different narrative perspectives, the flashback storyline doesn't help this plot feel so jumbled. Because so many aspects of the plot are stretched out over a great length of time you can't help but feel the length of the run time, so as much as I enjoyed how the plot twists were revealed I did find that it affected pacing negatively. The editing also left a bit to be desired, I frankly found it disconcerting that the speed of the cuts were suddenly changing mid-scene.

Jeffrey Tambor, who played Francis Silverberg, was more of a plot point than an actual character; I wish there'd been a bit more of a focus on his role's relationship with Affleck's. John Lithgow, who played Lamar Black, was not made for the role of antagonist (at least not in this film); Lithgow portrayed a fairly predictable greedy corporate tycoon which makes for the seventeenth time I've seen a villain like that this year. Jean Smart and Andy Umberger, who played Rita Blackburn and Ed Chilton respectively, were rather dull minor corporate roles that were implemented to give a bit of fuel to the main storyline; ultimately all they delivered were rather bland and forgettable performances. Jason Davis, who played the Neurologist, really delivered his lines in a deadpan manner; I felt that Davis delivered the theme of the film a bit too obviously in an over the top manner. Robert C. Treveiler, who played Young Chris's Father, delivers such an over the top character that I wasn't sure if I was watching The Accountant or the Daredevil Netflix show; seriously this character's solution to his child's autism is to basically make him fight as many people as he could growing up - it's plain bizarre. Mary Kraft and Jake Presley, who played Young Chris' Mother and Little Brother respectively, are a rather dull glimpse into Christian's domestic aspect of his backstory; Kraft seriously lacks screen presence and Presley struggles to show any form of emotion throughout the film.