The Accountant - Movie Review
Al Alexander More Content Now
A lot of numbers are crunched in The Accountant, but the only one you really need to know is two-thirds. A fraction, yes. But a fraction that perfectly sums up a movie thats enjoyable for two-thirds of its indulgent 128-minute runtime. The last third? Its an absolute mess.
Instead of books being cooked, its the disjointed, coincidence-heavy plot that does a number on a story that ultimately fails to add up. Where it goes wrong is in a disastrous third act when Ben Afflecks autistic CPA switches from automatic deductions to automatic weapons to fend off a two-pronged assault on his scheme to funnel money from the worlds most dangerous players into a philanthropic organization (think the Clinton Foundation) benefiting a cause deeply personal to him.
It involves family, the FBI, the Gambinos and a crooked robotics CEO whos not playing with all his chips. How it all comes together is not only violent, its stupendously preposterous. Still, you have to admire the gall of writer Bill Dubuque to think he could possibly pull it off. And he might have if he wasnt so busily painting himself into a corner by introducing more character arcs than he can possibly see through. What were left with is a host of story strands working independently until time constraints force Dubuque to hastily tie them together into a knot that laughably strains credulity.
Its aggravating because for the first 90 minutes Dubuque and director Gavin OConnor (Miracle) entice you into believing theyre transporting you somewhere not just intriguing, but informative by presenting us with a highly functioning man with autism. As played effusively by Affleck, Christian Wolff is a lovable, monosyllabic oddball whos terrific with numbers but incompetent in social situations. Living and working alone inside his OCD bubble, Christian (not his real moniker) moves from town to town, here and abroad, always changing his name to keep the authorities off his trail.
Thats because hes a wanted man, sought by the U.S. Justice Department for questioning in his involvement in laundering money for terrorists, drug cartels and mobsters. When we meet him, hes working out of a rundown strip mall 20 miles south of Chicago, where he inconspicuously blends in. Between teaching an aged farm couple the intricacies of home-office deductions, he finds himself in the company of executives at Chicagos Living Robotics, whove hired him to find out whos been skimming the profits. His assistant is in-house CPA Dana Cummings, a sweet, adorable math nerd winningly played by Anna Kendrick. They, of course, see stars, but Christian also spies financial malfeasance on the part of someone in the front office.
As that is playing out, back in Washington, D.C., a young and under-direst Treasury flunky (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) is being assigned by her boss (J.K. Simmons doing his J.K. Simmons thing) to uncover the true identity of who it is thats balancing the accounts for some of the worlds most vile people. Both actors do a lot with what theyre given, but their dogged pursuit of Christian never feels anything more than tacked on. Same for Christians flashbacks to the jail cell he once shared with a wise mafioso (Jeffrey Tambor). Ah, the flashbacks. The Accountant is brimming with them, as we watch Christian periodically lay down and let his mind drift back to the broken-home childhood he spent being taught by his father to never be bullied and to always fight back.
As if that wasnt enough, we also meet a young, handsome assassin (Jon Bernthal) who only shoots corporate scum he thinks are ripping off the little guys. Whew. That just too much to write about, let alone digest. But, like I said, for a long while it works, mainly because of the potent chemistry between Affleck and Kendrick. Their characters wonderfully weird flirtations are pure delight, especially when the convoluted plot requires them to hit the road in Christians vintage Airstream trailer. But its much too short lived, as the film all but totally dispenses with Kendrick in a misguided final reel full of boring fisticuffs and gunplay that looks like it was shot in a cave.
Yet, through it all, Affleck never wavers in delivering one of the best performances of his career. Hes tough, charming and surprisingly hilarious with his frequent man-of-few-words quips. But Dubuques underdeveloped script eventually leaves him stranded. Its eerily similar to how Dubuque left Robert Downey Jr. hanging out to dry in the writers equally messy The Judge. Like that courtroom drama, The Accountant is at its heart about a dysfunctional family in which mom is absent, dad is a bit of a kook and the siblings are dragging around tons of emotional baggage. It all proves rather silly, but its also exasperating because The Accountant wastes a golden opportunity to exploit the unbeatable pairing of Affleck and Kendrick. More of them would have been enough of an asset to balance a ledger filled with debits and loses. As is, consider it a mistake thats the fault of the preparer, but comes at our expense.
The AccountantCast includes Ben Affleck, Anna Kendrick, J.K. Simmons, Jeffrey Tambor, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Jon Bernthal and John Lithgow. (R for strong violence and language throughout.) Grade: C+
Source: http://www.doverpost.com/news/20161014/movie-review-the-accountant-doesnt-fully-add-up
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