Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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NOVEMBER 2-8, 2016 UCW 29 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Good Will Accounting The Accountant (Rated R) by HEATHER GRIFFITHS It is hard to completely avoid movie buzz. So when I walk into a theater I usually have a pretty good idea what the movie is about and whether I will like it. Every so often, usually when I am accommodating houseguests, I end up at a movie that I know very little about. For example, I knew The Accountant (128 minutes) starred Ben Affleck, and would probably involve accounting, but not much else. Turns out, the film turns autism into a superpower and forensic accounting into something sexy. Neither director Gavin O'Conner or writer Bill Dubuque have done anything particularly of note, but between the two of them they manage to put out an eminently watchable action thriller that leaves the viewer guessing. At least, it left me guessing. I saw the film while sitting between my husband and father-in-law, and they spent most of the movie making quiet observations about where the plot was going. I repeatedly threatened to get an usher to have them evicted, but that just made them laugh at me. For the record, audience in Friday's 1:15 showing of The Accountant, I did not whisper any of the following: "Where was the guy's brother?" "I bet they're going to kill that woman," "I bet that's the guy's brother," "Who was that guy?" "Ah, see, I was wondering where the guy's brother was." Christian Wolff (Affleck) is like the kid from Good Will Hunting who was really good at math, but really bad at getting along with people. Via regular flashbacks, we find out that he falls somewhere along the autism spectrum, and his mother and father disagree about how to best parent a child with his gifts. His mother (Mary Kraft) wants to place Christian in summer camp to work one-on-one with a neuroscientist while his military father (Robert Treveiler) wants him to not have autism. Since this is a film that celebrates the decisiveness and power of hyper masculinity, guess who wins that debate? Well, sort of. Christian does not get to work one-on-one with a neuroscientist, but you can't argue away a diagnosis of autism. I'm no expert, but it seems like Christian's father is a major part of the problem, even though the story tries to sell him as admirable. His approach to Christian's sensitivity to light and sound is to explain that Christian needs even brighter lights and louder noises, and leaves him in the care of his overwhelmed stay-at- home mother and older brother. His mother is only part of the story to illustrate how mothers neglect and ultimately fail their sons. I found this particular plotline objectionable because it made his mother out to be a villain, when if his father had consented to professional intervention she would never have been in the position of overwhelmed and frustrated caregiver to begin with. Combined with this story of how autism is really a superpower is a confusing mix of precision weaponry, high tech toys, fine art, expensive comic books and people writing numbers on a wall of windows to demonstrate how awesome they are at math. For some reason, there's also a treatise on the plight of the American farmer, but perhaps that is there to illustrate how Christian isn't just a shady accountant, he's a shady accountant with a moral code — so that makes all the people he murdered seem less reprehensible. Overall, the film wasn't bad. My father-in-law liked it, and so did my husband. I'm not sure it deserves the unadulterated praise they keep heaping upon it, but I suppose I can understand the appeal to their demographic. For fans of The Americans, keep an eye out for the actress who played Martha (Alison Wright), the FBI secretary Clark seduced and married. Now showing at Patriot 14 + IMAX. HEATHER GRIFFITHS, Contributing Writer. COMMENTS? Editor@ upandcomingweekly.com. 910 484-6200. $i. 50 Popcorn. $i. 50 Popcorn. $i. 50 Popcorn. $2.00 before 6:00 p.m. $3.00 after 6:00 p.m. $1.00 extra for 3D MOVIES Movie Monday: $1.50 All Day(Holiday or 3D movies excluded) $i. 50 Drink, $i. 50 Drink, $i. 50 Drinks. $i. 50 Drinks. $i. 50 Drinks. Fayetteville Independent Light Infantry VOL. 16 FREE to Residents, Businesses and Organizations throughout our Community. Welcome to Radio & TV Stations 18 Month Calendar WINNERS! UP & CO M I NG W EEKLY 'S Local Festivals County Libraries Area Health Facilities Schools Public & Private Parks & Recreation Universities & Colleges Frequently Called Numbers Town of Eastover City Welcome Mayor Nat Robertson Interim Chamber President Darsweil Rogers President FACVB John Meroski Cumberland County Commissioner Marshall Faircloth Live Theatres Museums & Galleries Local Annual Events Town of Hope Mills & Hope Mills Chamber Cumberland County Schools Dr. Frank Till