I enjoyed Gavin O’Connor’s 2008 crime thriller Pride and Glory but was totally blown away by his 2011 movie Warrior a boxing gem that is hard hitting, well acted and as tense as Tom Hardy’s biceps but then something unusual happened O’Connor sort of disappeared from the big screen limelight, he spent a few years directing a couple of TV movies and the odd episode of a TV show only to return four years later to helm the problematic western Jane Got a Gun that was not only a huge disappointment considering it’s fabulous cast but a big shame as it could and should have been a pretty decent western – maybe on reflection O’Connor wishes he had left this mess that somebody else had started well alone and stayed out of the limelight for that little bit longer…..
But luckily for us we didn’t have to wait long for filmmaker Gavin O’Connor to get back to doing what he does best and that is a gritty, well written and interesting take on the action thriller and with The Accountant it’s safe to say that he has delivered the goods – Ben Affleck’s Christian Wolff the autistic genius who makes his living uncooking the books for dangerous criminal organizations is coolness sublime, his mannerism’s and terminator style action scenes are a thing of beauty, explosive yet done with style, Affleck looks to be having a blast playing this tough, clever yet struggling to socialize anti-hero and some of his off the cuff one liner’s are delivered with a serious deadpan look that makes the moment even more fun to watch – Affleck nails his character’s disorder so well, the scene’s where Wolff sits in his bedroom beating his leg with the stereo blasting shows his vulnerability, his complexity and he is totally compelling to watch, your invested in this character and regardless of his past you end up rooting for him to succeed and have some sort of happy conclusion at it’s end – the infectious Anna Kendrick is yet again a delight to watch and her role alongside Affleck’s Wolffe makes for an unlikely teaming but it so works – I would have liked to have seen J.K Simmons in a more prominent role but nevertheless he’s solid, The Punisher’s Jon Bernthal gives yet another eye catching performance as a paid mercenary who’s protecting someone of interest to Wolff, I really enjoy watching Bernthal tackle the action scenes, it seems so effortless – Overall: Gavin O’Connor’s The Accountant is one of my favorite movies of the year, it’s a bloody good thriller with a message on autism that’s handled superbly by it’s lead star & writing team – I can’t wait for a second viewing and maybe just maybe director and star could be tempted to return for a sequel? let’s hope so….
