In 1984, "The Terminator" became one of the pop culture touchstones of its decade, though it's hard to remember that when Arnold Schwarzenegger was first cast as that glowering cybernetic assassin, the casting was an intentional joke, one that capitalized on Arnold's almost kitsch awkwardness as an actor.
Ben Affleck is a far better actor than Schwarzenegger, but nine years ago, when Affleck was cast as the title character in "The Accountant," the role conveyed some of that same spark of metaphorical humor. Affleck, however appealing, has often had a crass, overly square, and slightly deadpan quality. And it's precisely that aspect of his personality that makes him so perfect as Christian Wolff, an autistic savant who works as an accountant for mobsters and terrorists, using his surreal numerical acumen to clean up their fraudulent accounts. He's also, not coincidentally, an efficient action bruiser.
Director: Gavin O'Connor
Writer: Bill Dubuque
Stars: Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson
You could say, in the loosest sense, that "The Accountant" was a Jason Bourne-style thriller starring Rain Man. But that wouldn't do justice to the hidden wit of Affleck's performance, nor to the even better one he delivers in "The Accountant 2," which premiered tonight at SXSW. Speaking in a low, flat, monotone, with facial expressions that veer from inexpressive to deadpan, he's far more connected than Dustin Hoffman's character in "Rain Man," but Christian's personality is limited by the fact that the only way he knows how to communicate is by spouting factual information. That's what he thinks a conversation is. Within that frame of mind, he's a pleasant enough stoic brainiac, but it's that persistently neutral quality—Affleck as emotional android—that defines Christian's prowess as an action hero. He has empathy issues; this allows him to inflict pain.
As much as I enjoyed Affleck in "The Accountant," the film itself was a rather depressing mess. Director Gavin O'Connor tried to present it with a quirky humanity, but the script, by Bill Dubuque, was a mess, as if it had been put through a shredder. So, upon seeing "The Accountant 2," I reflected on the positive side of it all. For me, this franchise had no choice but to get better.
And that, I'm pleased to say, is exactly what happened. "The Accountant 2" is an enjoyably zany, hyper-violent film. O'Connor returns to direct, and the script, once again, is by Dubuque, who has a gift, if you can call it that, for writing scenes that drag and meander to the point where you half enjoy them and half scratch your head thinking, "What's the point of any of this?" That aspect of his writing drove me crazy in "The Accountant." This time, he's resulted in something as entertaining and pulpy as it is improbable. "The Accountant 2" is one of the few thrillers I've seen that could be characterized as a pass-time movie.
The plot revolves around Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson), now an agent in the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, who tries to save a Central American refugee family. Her photograph is in the possession of her boss, Raymond King (J.K. Simmons), when he is shot dead in the unnerving but logistically thrilling opening scene. Who is the cold-hearted, blonde assassin (Daniella Pineda) who arrives to meet her? This will be answered later in the world-building of "John Wick." But even when you finally find out what's going on, don't expect to get too invested in the denouement.
Marybeth joins Christian, who still lives in his silver PanAmerican Airstream (it's the only space his automaton imagination needs). He uses his insight to narrow the search, even as the scenes unfold like slow-motion bumper cars. It's fun watching Christian do his version of speed dating, or combing through reams of photographs and tax forms to parse clues that would be invisible to anyone else. And when he and Marybeth visit the corrupt boss of a pizza parlor that once employed the immigrant mother, Christian dazzles and confounds this cad by discovering, based on his most popular pizza, that he's laundering money. Then he twists his arm to get the information he needs. Can we really call it sadism if our hero (unlike, say, Jason Statham) doesn't enjoy it? He just does what objectively works. There was no way they'd make an "Accountant" movie without Christian's brother, Braxton, who's like his more reckless counterpart.
Comments
Post a Comment