Although it takes some time for "The Accountant" to break the backstory and go on with the thrilling narrative by Bill Dubuque ("The Judge"), the beginning pace serves as an instrument to build a sense of an outstanding story with strong and deep characters. The main concept is a family – its authority and support, which can bolster a person's growth into a mature individual no matter what the hardships are on the way.
In Gavin O'Connor's film, Ben Affleck is a math savant with a neurological disorder, whose life is a gangster reality with violent criminals, chasing him for his feats of accounting. At the beginning, his character Christian Wolff meets the audience as a child brought by his parents to a home for neurologically-impaired children nurtured by a mindful doctor. Christian's father (Robert C. Treveiler) gives an impression of a strict and militaristic person, whose healing method is nothing less than a constant provocation of his child's fears. This cure provides young Christian with impressive martial skills and inclination for self-punishment, as he is taught to fight and never give up. As the film evolves into an action violent drama with lots of gunshots and blood, a present time is being interfered with flashbacks on father-son relationship.
Real time shows Christian as a self-employed certified public accountant who's awkward in communicating, but confident in his business with clients, who range from farmers to criminals. He manages his life with paranoid accuracy and trusts only his assistant, a woman, with whom he communicates only by the phone. From the moment she tells him about an opportunity to get a big client, the new-tech company, the storyline takes pace of a criminal action. The viewers meet Dana (Anna Kendrick), who noticed financial incompatibility and reported it to higher levels. While Christian breaks this conundrum in one night, the viewers get a strong feeling of underlying conflict, which is dangerous to unleash.
The story gets even more complicated as a fluent head of the Department of The Treasury, Ray (J.K. Simmons) appears to be intrigued by the mysterious accountant, who holds a bunch of nasty criminals as clients over the years. His fascination brings a new twist to the story, when Ray calls out an analyst Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) to track the man down – he even blackmails her, using illegal trash from her past in order to maintain officer's compliance.
Meanwhile, the criminals broaden their target, chasing after Dana, who's unfortunately involved in the discovery of the financial conflict. At this point, the attention is drawn to the relationship between Christian and Dana, as the viewers can feel a slight budding electricity, which is moderate enough not to distract from the action narrative. Anna Kendrick is a perfect fit for the role of a smart, almost non-romantic woman, who's able to add heart to the relationship with excessively restrained Christian.
And when the story is about to end with Christian, as a killing machine, surpassing his enemies at every step and fighting for the chance to kill the one who chased after him and Dana, the plot suddenly reveals a new contortion. The main criminal (Jon Bernthal) appears to be in close connection with our beloved accountant – the twist, which made everyone go crazy as the plotline was seemingly too far from this kind of revelation. And there's even more for the moviegoer to realize in the very end.
In the final sequence, it's clear the film has a potential for a sequel, as the actors are strong enough to hold the franchise and the story should have more outcomes than the film has for now. This film with its focus on the power of mentorship and belief in undiscovered human abilities has a lot to offer to the audience. Although the finale may seem to be overcharged, viewers may become bored with the lack of unexpected turns.
Watch the trailer below:
Reach Staff Reporter Mariia Kovaleva here.
Annenberg Media