To the average viewer, “The Accountant” might seem like a generic action flick, with Ben Affleck shooting up bad guys while a star-studded cast of minor characters either falls in love with him or looks on — but that’s only if they see what’s on the surface. Much like its protagonist, “The Accountant,” released Friday, passes off as one thing, but is really much more complex. It is the odd man out not only in this fall season release lineup, but in the action genre itself.
Affleck’s character, Christian Wolff, is the titular accountant, brokering deals for terrorist groups and drug lords while posing as a regular accountant in a small firm in Illinois. Wolff’s fame in the global criminal underworld gives him some unwanted attention — not only is he under investigation by treasury agents Ray King (J.K. Simmons) and Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson), but he also crosses paths with a hired gunman only known as Braxton (Jon Bernthal), who seems to be just as lethal as Wolff is.
In order to divert all this heat, Wolff takes a mission to check the books of a rising robotics company, where he finds a friend in his awkward co-worker Dana (Anna Kendrick). Yet this seemingly normal gig hides more secrets than Wolff could ever have calculated.
There’s one important detail about the plot of “The Accountant” that really elevates both the movie — and even Affleck — to a whole new level: Wolff is, by his own definition, a high-functioning autist. Wolff struggles in dealing with loud noises and bright lights, is sometimes too literal and too blunt, fails to pick up on some social cues and has an obsession with finishing what he started.
However, none of these characteristics are overdone or are presented in a mocking or belittling way. Wolff simply is autistic and lives with it, a definite first in a Hollywood film. Autistic characters are often portrayed as either extremely debilitated at worst, or social outcasts at best (with the rare “Forrest Gump” or “Rain Man” as exceptions).
Affleck manages to capture all the characteristics of a high-functioning autist in a way that isn’t too exaggerated. It is a respectful, albeit unconventional, portrayal. There are moments where Wolff goes into full-on Hollywood savant mode when dealing with numbers and accounting — complete with mumbling formulas and writing at near-light speed — yet those moments are few and far between, and the rest of Affleck’s performance is much more nuanced than expected.
The secondary cast is just that: secondary, perhaps to balance out the sheer depth of Affleck’s protagonist. Sure, characters like King, Medina and Dana all have backstories that perfectly explain who they are, but take away the backstories, and the characters become clichés. J.K. Simmons’ King is the determined cop, Addai-Robinson’s Medina is the relentless FBI-type and Anna Kendrick is the awkward, quirky girl.
That isn’t to say that they did not give their all in their performances — in fact, these can be considered some of their best yet. Bernthal also does a great job as Braxton, but to talk about him would be to spoil maybe the most interesting out of the supporting characters.
Beyond the characters, the plot is solid. Though at times it may stop to give viewers pretty much every detail of every character’s backstory, it does so in a way that doesn’t detract from the overall flow of the story too much. Perhaps the most interesting parts are seeing how Wolff lives with his autism, both positively and negatively, and how he conditions himself to confront that which makes him uncomfortable.
There are a few loose threads in the beginning of the story that may seem like they go nowhere, but rest assured: every single detail comes back around for one of the most amazing endings this side of 2010. The action sequences are done in a way that actually has the audience wonder just how Wolff will succeed in whatever particular mission he’s doing, and have just as much screen time as the rest of the plot.
Much like the puzzles Wolff enjoys solving, the elements of this movie complement each other perfectly. It isn’t an action film, or a character piece, or an “autism flick,” so much as the positives of all of these melded together into one very unique film. If anything, “The Accountant” deserves some attention as one of the most innovative films of this year, so catch it while you still can.
