Film Review- The Accountant

Film: The Accountant
Director: Gavin O'Connor
Year: 2016
Genre: Action thriller
Stars: Ben Affleck, J.K. Simmon Anna Kendrick

Rating 8/10

Ben Affleck stars in this action packed thriller as an oddball accountant who performs mathematical miracles overnight. The opening scene shows the background to Christian Wolfe's peculiar behaviour (Affleck) by reverting back to a childhood scene where his parents are seeking professional help for his autism.

Within the first 10 minutes you understand the depths of his social awkwardness and conversation by the use of his naive charm and lack of social understanding.

This sets the scene perfectly for the well designed plot which holds more twists than even Chaka Demus & Pliers could summon up! If it wasn't for the strong acting of Affleck and the final twists of the plot it may just have appeared as yet another gun shooting action type thriller (yawn) but this was far from the usual.

Christian Wolfe is an accountant that works for the underworld, wiping out any evidence of criminal activity. When Christian gets knowledge that the financial crimes director Raymond King (Played by J.K Simmons) is on his trail, he swiftly lands an obvious and average accountancy job in firm Living Robots Corporation. In a bit to fit into society to disguise his less legitimate work he soon gets stuck into finding $60 million that has disappeared from the firm over number of years.

He soon befriends an over enthusiastic accounts junior Dana Cummings (Anna Kendrick) which highlights more social awkwardness but luckily holds a hint of comedy value in Affleck's expressionless face.

The pace of the film is accompanied by a low level of dramatic music in the background which gives it a slight edge but what is fascinating is how quick Christian Wolf changes from expressionless mastermind to someone who can wipe someone out in the blink of an eye lid. In one scene he is attacked by a man with a knife and within a split second he rips his belt from his trousers and whacks him across the face with it. The sheer swiftness of it could leave you smiling because of his pan faced expression and lack of reaction to his own skill. That gave it the plot a little bit more of an edge.

The plot comprises of the government and hardened criminals trying to track him down, and throughout the film it shows the connections between his childhood and his adult life. This leads very much to the unexpected and cleverly thought out ending.

With a slight hint of comedic moments to give this dark thriller an edge and a very skilled performance from Ben Afflick this film provided a perfect action packed thriller with an unexpected twist.

This should not disappoint any viewer looking or action and an interesting storyline that leaves you guessing 'what happens next?'