Neuro Note 4: The Accountant

I recently watch the movie The Accountant because it had been suggested to me by a friend that knows I have an interest in working with individuals with autism. I decided to write a neuro note on the movie because I think it provides a unique representation of a neurological disorder, as an action movie.
The movie starts out in Christian’s childhood, as his parents take him to a specialist seeking help with this autism (ASD). Then flash forward to adulthood, Christian, is a savant with numbers and has used that to become a successful accountant, along with working as an ‘accountant’ for criminal organizations. The movie depicts how Christian goes through his life and his work with ASD. At one point in the movie Christian talks about how he doesn’t have relationships because he does not do well talking to others. He has a very specific schedule and will panic if he cannot finish a task, shown to impact his life significantly. At the end of the day he applies sensory input (overload) with loud music, a rolling pin on his legs, and strobe lights, as if trying to ‘desensitize’ himself. While some critics have stated that the movie portrayed too ‘Hollywood’ of a version of ASD, I was impressed that an action movie’s main character had ASD, that so much research had been done on the disorder, and that Hollywood was “advocating”/educating a group of viewers that may not otherwise watch a movie about autism.
I would recommend this movie to everyone. Aside from being a great action movie, some of the difficulties with ASD are made known to the public. While it may show an extreme/unrealistic example of ‘a day in life’ with someone with ASD, the movie does a good job of showing how relationships work and why an individual with ASD may act the way they act. From an OT perspective, the movie shows how Christian’s occupations are affected on a daily basis because of his diagnosis and give a sense of what someone with ASD may be going through.


















Picture retrieved from https://theexportedfilm.com/2016/10/06/the-accountant-2016-movie-review/


Taylor, L., Williams, M. (Producers), & O’Conner, G. (Director). (October 10, 2016). The Accountant [Motion Picture]. United States: Electric City Entertainment.

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