The Accountant (2016)

[Dave (imported)]

THE ACCOUNTANT is an interesting movie.

At first it seems like the titular forensic accountant is a hit-man for hire but very quickly the plot establishes that the titular accountant is a high functioning autistic who really does forensic accounting. The plot seems so simple to start and unwinds into a very satisfying mystery.

It's worth the watch. Ben Affleck's performance is excellent. The plot is complex. There is an FBI agent (JK Simmons) searching for him and apparently willing to do quite a few illegal things to find him. A young FBI agent with a penchant for lying on her employment application. (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) A Mafia stool pigeon (Jeffrey Tambor). A robotics and prosthetic maker (John Lithgow). IT all comes together in a rather satisfying and violent way.

A CAUTION: It is violent and the violence is realistic.

A good, action packed story with a sweet ending.

[Arab Nights (imported)]

I agree on Affleck's performance. I liked it also because initially it is obvious he does not do well with social interaction, but as the movie develops you begin to see him in situations where the autism gives him almost super human abilities. Reminded me of 'Tempel Grandin" where at times it was almost painful to watch because of the autism but in the end you appreciate that she has made a contribution to society because of and not despite her autism. I appreciate the potential of autistic people more because of those two movies.

[Dave (imported)]

There is another movie out there titled: CRIMINAL which stars Kevin Costner, Gary Oldman, Tommy lee Jones, Gal Godot, and a bunch of others.

The plot is that to stop a terrorist, the CIA implants a dead agent's memories (Tatum) into a psychopath whose brain never developed good feelings (Costner). Then they unleash him on the world to kill the terrorist. It's a fairly joyless movie because the psychopathic killer does what he does best -- kill. So does everyone else almost. Now the procedure does give him enough memories to become less violent but this doesn't feel good at all. It's bloody. It's violent.

The difference between CRIMINAL and THE ACCOUNTANT is that the latter tells a story that we can identify with -- an autistic child growing into adult -- while the former creates a reason for the protagonist to be violent, brutal and rather heartless in the way the killings unfold.

THE ACCOUNTANT has a plot line, complicated and involved, and although violent, it maintains a morality.

[Dave (imported)]

I agree on Affleck's performance. I liked it also because initially it is obvious he does not do well with social interaction, but as the movie develops you begin to see him in situations where the autism gives him almost super human abilities. Reminded me of 'Tempel Grandin" where at times it was almost painful to watch because of the autism but in the end you appreciate that she has made a contribution to society because of and not despite her autism. I appreciate the potential of autistic people more because of those two movies.

I have had reason to be with a few autistic children. I volunteered to help a robotics group for five years that had kids with disabilities involved with it. Most kids, even kids with disabilities, you can relax. Working with these children required constant awareness and constant thought. I don't know how their parents and teachers do it. I'm not that strong.

[nazia100 (imported)]

The best movie I've seen since Sacario. I couldn't believe how well Ben Affleck played this type of character. He deserves an award for sure! Constant action and the story line was strong. The violence wasn't over the top either so it is ok to take teenagers.

[Dave (imported)]

I watched it twice more and that plot is excellent.

I liked Affleck, too.

[Dave (imported)]

I bumped this thread back to the top because THE ACCOUNTANT begins a run on HBO tonight (Saturday 10 June) and for those who have access to HBO, you can see it. If you have any "on demand" type viewing of HBO then you can watch it like that beginning Monday or Tuesday ager HBO has the weekend to the first showings.

It's a good movie.

[rivianwarrior (imported)]

loved this movie. it was one of those that looked like it had an interesting premise in the previews but would either be pure crap or really good, thankfully it turned out to be the latter. i wondered how all of the threads would tie together in the end, and it didn't disappoint - the ending was very good. jon bernthal is showing up in everything now, can't wait to see him in the punisher series.

[Dave (imported)]

I recognized what was going on with Ben Affleck's character right away because I'd done some work with kids that type of disability. For five years I was a "counselor" with one of the HS Robotics groups at FIRST. I was only there because they sponsored several kids with disabilities along with an HS honors program. Those were adventures.

Most of the "crime thriller" shows that I see are bang, bang, car chase, and predictable. This wasn't.

[nicnic1988 (imported)]

I am autistic myself and was in that movie last year with my company. I liked some parts but most of the time it was too much violence for me. My boss didnt even understand the plot.