The Accountant
Raised in a militant household, Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) is a man diagnosed with a form of high functioning Asperger’s syndrome who functions as a mathematical savant. Tutored by a mafia tax accountant (Jeffrey Tambor), Christian uses his talents to uncook the books of the world’s top criminal organizations, an act that’s garnered the attention of the Treasury Department. Sought by the feds as well as his clients, the ensuing trail of carnage will reach unexpected proportions, and, just how well will possible love interest Dana (Anna Kendrick) take to Christian’s mysterious lifestyle.
Directed by Gavin O’Connor this blending of genres takes multiple working models and nicely melds them all together to create a Jason Bourne/Beautiful Mind hybrid; an unlikely pairing that actually seems to work. And, while fairly conventional in character setup and development, we’ve seen all these pieces and methods used many times over, it’s the sum of their parts together that keeps this thriller fun to the end, even when we’ve guessed the last few turns before the film reaches the finish line. It’s also apparent that no stretching was required from the ensemble including heavyweights J.K. Simmons and John Lithgow, but that doesn’t stop the fun either, sometimes it’s good to see great actors doing what they do best with material they’re known for. Worthy of your time this weekend. The Accountant is rated R.