Bill Dubuque’s story of The Accountant movie fits like a glove into the frames of Gavin O’Connor, one of the finest directors of our times. For those who are unaware, the latter’s the same guy who brought us the exceptional movie Warrior in the year 2011. The Accountant movie packs in a rare gem of a story that couldn’t have received a better director. Apart from a predictable climax, the movie retains just the right amount of action and a lot of awe-inspiring intelligible gestures that compel you to marvel at the protagonist, and his unworldly state of mind.
Gavin O’Connor isn’t the only one trying to furbish the brilliant frames of The Accountant movie. He is well supplemented at all times by extraordinary actors like Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal, J.K. Simmons and Anna Kendrick. With Ben Affleck taking up the center seat to let us stay astounded at the genius his character is, you wonder if autism could really create something as badass as him.
DIRECTION OF THE ACCOUNTANT MOVIE
I love how tranquil Gavin O’Connor remains behind the lens, and it literally shows in his work. There is this rare calm in his frames that keeps telling you the story intended to be shown. He doesn’t move on like others do when he is done. That leaves his work with proper apt focus.
The Editing of the movie is a tad troublesome, more miffing. The trick of inserting convoluted stories, overlapping tales into other tales, doesn’t really work that well in the case of The Accountant. The broken timeline that is created, in fact, ends up creating hell lot of confusion. You are forced to wonder which one’s which. However, at all times, even in that dire seriousness of helming subplots, Gavin stays undeterred. I surmise that helps in keeping his work well polished.
THE ACCOUNTANT PLOT (SPOILERS AHEAD)
Christian Wolff is a licensed accounting genius working for a small business accounting firm in Plainfield, Illinois. His accounting “glitch missions” are provided to him over the phone by a voice, that seems to share his secret. Wolff had a harsh childhood with autism. He and his brother Braxton were left by their mother at a young age. With a military hardened father to tend to their actions, they had an even rougher livelihood growing up.
Another side plot introduces us to Raymond King (Simmons) who is keen on catching the one man that had eluded him ever since a painful meeting in the past. He hires Marybeth Medina played convincingly well by Cynthia Addai-Robinson to find him and arrest him.
Christian Wolff’s next mission is his final legal assignment in a Robotics Company where he is to solve a huge financial discrepancy issue. It also introduces him to Dana Cummings (Anna Kendricks). What follows is an intricate unfolding in an endeavour to find out who the real culprit behind the discrepancy is. What gorgeously skims alongside the revelation is an unknown figurine trying to shut everybody down by killing them with the help of a cool threatening assassin (Bernthal).
SCENES TO CHERISH: BEN AFFLECK GILDING
There are jaw-dropping moments squeezed into the accountant that will make you laud it profusely. To see Christian Wolff break all barriers of the mundane is insanely gratifying. His modus operandi of doing things, the unique style even before he begins focusing, and the things he does to stay confined becomes further embellished by Ben Affleck’s natural flair for acting. I loved how Wolff kept a painting of Pollock on his ceiling, that he would stare at the chaos on it before soothing himself to sleep.
Also, the fact that Christian Wolff had everything in his life in order can’t be missed. Right from the point he would open his garage gates, to the precision in his entrance, to his parking and to the timely array of everything that composed his life; Everything, almost everything talked about how controlled he really was. Then how with an uncommon act of disarray, with the inclusion of a tinge of dissonance into his perfection, chaos ensued. It was beautifully portrayed.
Then there are dope action sequences that will leave you dumbfounded. Action is quick, stylized and decorated, just the way we prefer. His sniper shots are like music to the ears, and eye candy to the eyes.
You can pre-order the DVD of The Accountant from here:
DOWNSIDES OF THE ACCOUNTANT MOVIE
Robert C. Treveiler plays a tough army dad who wishes to see his kids prepped up for an unfair world. For that he trains them, a punitive ceaseless affair that goes on till they learn everything there is, in all kinds of fighting lessons. But in his abominable bluntness, there remains a brazen overlooking of children injustice that stays unaddressed. As if all of it was fine.
With Ray King’s (played by J.K. Simmons) constant twitching, you get an idea if there is a sub-plot at play, or if there is a relation with the protagonist, waiting to be dropped at any moment. Then when you are entertained with the conjoining of prologue you get to see why Ray is keen on finding about “the who” and also the whereabouts of The Accountant. The fact that all of that search accounts for nothing eventually bothers you beyond limit, since that leaves threads out in the open. You can’t help but wonder – Why that dispensable build up when it wasn’t supposed to go anywhere?
ANOTHER BIG LET DOWN
Unfortunately the Accountant movie has its Martha moment too. (I am a huge Affleck fan, but sorry it was too evident to overlook). You wait for that final fight to take place only to realize Braxton and Wolff were in fact brothers. You kind of see that from far away too. But then even after that big climax, the reason they start fighting for is something that will make you shake your head. That aftermath lacks proper melodrama, and their squabble ends up becoming a complete dud.
Another one of those I have already mentioned before. Bazillions of subplots! It is hard to keep track of them. It’s like someone is telling a story, and then even before it gets over, someone narrates another one. Perplexes you so much!
THE FINAL VERDICT
I would recommend you to celebrate the movie for its dark theme. However limited its action is, you are going to love it for its thrilling depiction. Also, there are two reasons to watch the Accountant movie. The first one – Ben Affleck, hands down. A clean winner! The second one is for Gavin O’Connor’s grim direction. He shoehorns in just the right amount of everything confirming nothing’s truly spoiled. So despite the vexing flaws it possesses everything’s overlooked.
You can check out the trailer of The Accountant movie here:
The Accountant
Pros
- Hands Down Ben Affleck
- Gavin O'Connor's tranquil direction
- Limited yet dope action seqs
Cons
- Convoluted plots and sub-plots
- Some pointless plots
- A tad predictable when trying to meet ends
