The Accountant – A Movie Review

Inclusive societies depend upon extreme vigilance, all but the most zealous will miss the many sinister subtleties laced throughout their casual dialog.  As custodians of tolerance we must at all times maintain this zealous vigilance against these insidious leitmotifs —  themes of hate that inevitably propagate from seemingly innocuous conversation.  Of specific relevance to this review, there is a growing sense among the many that cinema and television are increasingly insipid, moralizing, banal, maudlin and indulgently melancholic.  I wish there were a government agency to which this kind of hate speech could be reported.  Just beneath the surface of these complaints is a tacit meme of the racist: ‘moralizing’ is a coded slight against tolerance; ‘maudlin’ is the thinly veiled pejorative of a misogynist…and so on and so forth.

Through these bigoted innuendos people everywhere engage in the ongoing victimization of society’s most vulnerable.  Every time Hollywood feeds their generalizations and stereotypes with yet another heterosexual WASP as hero, thousands of African American deaths at the hands of white cops result.  Especially concerning is the murderous impulse engendered in the minds of our children.  For generations on end, the lionization of white males as dramatic hero has rendered this planet a vast killing field; white privilege is directly and uniquely responsible for every war from the beginning of time — only through ceaseless and passionate efforts at inclusion will the blood stop flowing.

All of which is why I threw an absolute tantrum over the advertisement for this newest action thriller.  After calming and having done some investigation, I was greatly relieved to discover that the white, cisgendered male lead was mentally handicapped — tolerably intriguing.  My wife having granted permission, she drove us to the nearest theater.  Regrettably, I never bothered to check this movie’s gun-rating; once this omission was admitted, my wife nearly turned the car around she was so upset.  She hates guns with a passion greater than my own, so it was little wonder that she really let me have it all the way there.  I sure did deserve it.  It’s the only way I’ll ever learn.

All in all, and gratuitous gun-glorification notwithstanding, the film was a tour de force of tolerance and a triumph for inclusion.  Very little of it distracted from the promotion of the hero’s handicapibility.  All the victims of his violence were white males luxuriating in their privilege.  Every scene, every line, every character pulsing with a message of inspiration and hope for all those suffering from Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD).  The theme of ASD and its struggle against the prejudice of ‘norms’ was to take center stage and never give quarter to a movie-goer’s various expectations.  Some may’ve been disappointed with the incoherence of plot; others probably thought the premise inane and fatuous; other still would likely describe the dialogue as flat and dull; and, worst of all, there are no doubt many hateful and deplorable individuals refusing to relate with any of the characters.

In spite all the progress that’s been made, there are many dinosaurs out there who insist on entertainment in exchange for the price of admission.  So long as this is the case, considerations of entertainment must be subordinate to a film’s social responsibility.  While there is everywhere great cause for celebration (stand up comics are finally preaching social justice instead of telling irresponsible jokes; sporting events are increasingly venues for the promotion of cultural awareness; music concerts are used to push an accredited agenda), there is with it a recognition that our work is just beginning.  As much as I’d like to give The Accountant five rainbows, I cannot forgive the writers their reckless promotion of large carbon-belching internal combustion engines, there were no prominent characters with atypical gender identification, there was an insufficient proportion of people of color throughout, and even though there was ample opportunity for real courage, never did the lead characters come out as gay.

Most importantly, The Accountant has finally made a stand against the rape-culture which has for so long dominated the silver screen.  Given its dynamic, the issue was especially tricky; inasmuch as rape is almost always committed by cisgended males, the fact that this story’s male lead suffered from ASD would place the onus of rape squarely on his romantic interest — a ‘normal’ girl possessed of a secret fetish for the mentally handicapable.  I was particularly pleased that this sex-crazed deviant never got to consummate her savage lusts.  At times it seemed likely to occur — leaving me at always ill at east — but in spite of a couple close calls, the credits rolled without a single sexual assault.

I give The Accountant four and a half rainbows.  There were a few elements obviously added to try and ‘entertain’ the block-headed dinosaurs; fortunately all such attempts did very little to interfere with the edifying message presented.  For so long, this country’s filmmakers failed to teach their audience a lesson; in neglecting their duty to social justice movie goers were rarely lectured on their moral failures and inattention to the plight of victims, they would breed violent hatred and rape into the minds of their audience, all because of some arcane insistence on entertainment.  Thank Gaia, that day is finally at an end.