Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) looks like your average CPA. The self-employed accountant has his own office in a modest building located in a nondescript strip mall in suburban Plainfield, Illinois.

However, because he was born with Aspberger’s Syndrome, (a form of autism) he is a math savant, which makes him very well-suited to his profession. Nevertheless, looks can be very deceiving, because the mild-mannered loner also has a shadowy side that he keeps under wraps.

Consequently, no one has any idea that Christian’s clients are powerful mobsters whom he helps launder huge sums of cash without attracting the attention of the authorities. Over the years, he has become wealthy in his own right by cooking the books for crooks while resisting the temptation to live beyond his apparent means.

Eventually, Christian’s business does arouse the suspicions of the U.S. Treasury Department’s Crime Enforcement Division that is led by Director Raymond King (J.K. Simmons). Aware that the government agent Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) and her cohorts are on his tail, Christian decides to represent Living Robotics, a respected, hi-tech firm, in order to provide a legitimate front for his business.

However, he and an employee (Dana Cummings) at Living Robotics find their lives threatened when they uncover millions of dollars worth of corruption in the company. But those crooks have no idea that when Christian was growing up, he had been trained to defend himself by his protective father (Robert C. Trevelier), who trained his autistic son to not be bullied. Even though it has been many years since he has had to protect himself, those skills now kick in and Christian becomes a cold, calculating assassin.

Thus unfolds The Accountant that is directed by Gavin O’Connor (Tumbleweeds). The film’s script has been artfully executed by an A-list cast of actors including Academy Award winners Ben Affleck and J.K. Simmons, as well as Oscar nominees Anna Kendrick and John Lithgow.

Excellent (****). Rated R for graphic violence and pervasive profanity. In English, French, and Indonesian with subtitles. Running time: 128 minutes. Distributor: Warner Brothers Pictures.