I’m not sure how to write this properly, or what it says about Ben Affleck, but Affleck plays an autistic person really well. About midway through the movie Wolff tells fellow accountant Danna Cummings (Anna Kendrick) that he wishes he was better at social interaction (don’t we all). But like Batman, which, coincidentally, was Affleck’s most recent role preceding, Christian Wolff was able to take his fear and struggle and turn it into a strength to help others based around his moral code.
The Accountant is packed with a tremendous supporting cast. I already mentioned Anna Kendrick, who is adorable as always, but there is also Jeffrey Tambor as Wolff’s jailhouse companion, John Lithgow as the owner of a robotics company who hires Wolff to find the man embezzling his company’s money, J.K. Simmons as the agent hunting him down for killing people, and Jon Bernthal as a rival assassin. All of these actors help light up the screen and add to the pleasure of watching the story unfold.
It’s also surprisingly funny, and not in a—“Oh my God this is so ridiculous” kind of way. The story had some good jokes capitalizing on awkward moments between characters. This added a strong human element to the movie especially as the story built towards a climactic moment that falls flat.
The Accountant was directed by Gavin O'Connor, the same guy who did Miracle and Warrior, two movies I really liked. They are also two movies that know exactly what they are—stories that you can numbly enjoy watching. The Accountant isn't a movie meant to be taken seriously. The idea of Ben Affleck playing an accountant and also somehow a spy is absolutely ridiculous. But the ridiculous and the silly aspects of this movie let it be something better. I am tired of seeing movies with guys who are good at everything do well. I want to see a guy who can kicks ass and doesn’t know how to answer a rhetorical question or when how to properly talk to a woman. That is the hero we deserve. B