I had high hopes for The Accountant, a thriller with no shortage of fine actors like Jeffrey Tambor, Jean Smart, and Alison Wright (of The Americans).
The main character, Christian Wolff, is played by Ben Affleck. By day, Christian works as a certified public accountant from a nondescript office in a strip mall. But this is no ordinary CPA. Christian's house is bare but his trailer, filled with original paintings, blocks of gold, and military grade weapons, is worthy of James Bond himself. Yes, he works for some shady clients. Through flashbacks we also find out that he is autistic, and that he has extensive martial arts training.
And this is where the story stops working for me.
The autism angle could have worked beautifully for this brilliant accountant. Or Christian could have been an accountant by day and quasi-assassin by night. As it stands, Christian's character just wears too many hats. Unfortunately, even Ben Affleck’s gravitas can’t rescue an over-written character.
What I do like is the tender relationship between Christian and Dana, a junior accountant who works for one of his clients, played to understated perfection by Anna Kendrick. Their storyline is original and they have great chemistry. The writers should have concentrated on this angle.