It certainly fooled me. From beginning to end, I thought I knew which direction the story would take. This short shows how a creativity can trump a large budget or an A list cast. While this short did not have me on the edge of my seat, it certainly kept my attention with the witty antics of the mysterious accountant. Well put together with the exception of the campfire scene -- way too much light flickering from the "fire".
I really liked the feeling of a southern setting and the Sling Blade reference made me happy. I thoroughly enjoyed the acting as well. It had very believable characters mixed with a light comedy that kept me interested. I also wasn't expecting the brother to do what he did in order to save the farm for the betterment of the boys. Very nice.
I thought it was super funny, up until the ending. It was full of antics and I loved the accountant's "4.5% margin of error" fallback.
Overall though, the design aspects made the film. I loved the costuming, and the sets and setting were spot on. It was incredibly easy to imagine these events actually happening. The writing was also very good, and the dialogue was delivered in a way that felt like natural southern conversation, but also kept me interested in what was going on. My favorite part by far, however, was the introduction of the accountant. The shot choices and cuts in the beginning give us a strong impression of who the character of the accountant is, without us ever seeing his face or knowing exactly which character he will turn out to be. I thought it was a really neat way to introduce the title character.
I thought the film was very thought provoking. The location they shot in was particularly beautiful, and the production design was sparse in a pleasing and effective way. The acting, especially that of the accountant, was high quality. I really enjoyed the quirky antics and the twists that kept my interest throughout the short.
I remember this film from 201, I loved it then and still do. I think that the locations are perfect, it's hard to find a place that works so well with a story like this. I think that even though the accountant can be seen as the antagonist, you still kind of like him. It's a tough thing to think about because he is helping, but at the same time it's kind of his own agenda. I think that the production design is exactly what the story called for. I loved the old house, that really set the tone of the film, along with the long walk the two brothers took together. I think this is something I could very well do, the locations aren't too hard, there is no crazy special effects, just need a strong story and great talent.
Great writing plus great acting tends to make for a great film, and The Accountant has plenty of both. The dialogue is sharp and witty throughout - it wouldn’t be hard to make a film about two brothers on a farm and an accountant to be boring. But this film is nothing of the sort. It goes to show how valuable creating a memorable character can be. As writer/director/actor, Ray McKinnon had complete creative control over the creation of the titular character, and pulls it off brilliantly.
Its great to see a film that deals with serious subject material in a new and quirky way like this one. The carefree sort of attitude of the accountant towards the possible murder and mutilation of the O'Dell was refreshing and really had my attention. I especially enjoyed one of the opening sequences where the accountant has his whole cigarette setup with the matchbox strip duck taped to the dash. It shadowed his obsessive creativity really well and is a great example of how the small things can really add up to give a film just the right feel.
This film had my mind going in all different directions. The dialogue exchanges between each character all meant something to the story, and every new bit of information we received played into the plot, even if in some miniscule way. I think we can use this as an example in finalizing the script for our film. Every line in our film needs to mean something and push the story forward. The Accountant didn't have any kind of fluff, and that to me allowed the story to hook me.
It certainly fooled me. From beginning to end, I thought I knew which direction the story would take. This short shows how a creativity can trump a large budget or an A list cast. While this short did not have me on the edge of my seat, it certainly kept my attention with the witty antics of the mysterious accountant. Well put together with the exception of the campfire scene -- way too much light flickering from the "fire".
ReplyDeleteI really liked the feeling of a southern setting and the Sling Blade reference made me happy. I thoroughly enjoyed the acting as well. It had very believable characters mixed with a light comedy that kept me interested. I also wasn't expecting the brother to do what he did in order to save the farm for the betterment of the boys. Very nice.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was super funny, up until the ending. It was full of antics and I loved the accountant's "4.5% margin of error" fallback.
ReplyDeleteOverall though, the design aspects made the film. I loved the costuming, and the sets and setting were spot on. It was incredibly easy to imagine these events actually happening. The writing was also very good, and the dialogue was delivered in a way that felt like natural southern conversation, but also kept me interested in what was going on. My favorite part by far, however, was the introduction of the accountant. The shot choices and cuts in the beginning give us a strong impression of who the character of the accountant is, without us ever seeing his face or knowing exactly which character he will turn out to be. I thought it was a really neat way to introduce the title character.
I thought the film was very thought provoking. The location they shot in was particularly beautiful, and the production design was sparse in a pleasing and effective way. The acting, especially that of the accountant, was high quality. I really enjoyed the quirky antics and the twists that kept my interest throughout the short.
ReplyDeleteI remember this film from 201, I loved it then and still do. I think that the locations are perfect, it's hard to find a place that works so well with a story like this. I think that even though the accountant can be seen as the antagonist, you still kind of like him. It's a tough thing to think about because he is helping, but at the same time it's kind of his own agenda. I think that the production design is exactly what the story called for. I loved the old house, that really set the tone of the film, along with the long walk the two brothers took together. I think this is something I could very well do, the locations aren't too hard, there is no crazy special effects, just need a strong story and great talent.
ReplyDeleteGreat writing plus great acting tends to make for a great film, and The Accountant has plenty of both. The dialogue is sharp and witty throughout - it wouldn’t be hard to make a film about two brothers on a farm and an accountant to be boring. But this film is nothing of the sort. It goes to show how valuable creating a memorable character can be. As writer/director/actor, Ray McKinnon had complete creative control over the creation of the titular character, and pulls it off brilliantly.
ReplyDeleteAll in all I liked this short and commend it for it's realistic, and not cliché/corny, portrayal of southern men fighting will all they have to save their family's land as well as the diction used by the three men. I've seen the actor who played the part of the accountant in a few other works including another one of his quirky, southern portrayals in "O Brother Where Art Thou" and I think they made the right choice in casting him for this role. He fit perfectly, and by reading the other comments it seems that I wasn't the only one who thought so. What I really enjoyed about watching this film was how they kept the pace moving from; here's someone to help save the farm to he wants you to burn it down, to he wants you to kill your wife, to he had a plan the entire time. It seems like that should be a lot to try and cram into a short but it didn't come across that way at all.
ReplyDeleteIts great to see a film that deals with serious subject material in a new and quirky way like this one. The carefree sort of attitude of the accountant towards the possible murder and mutilation of the O'Dell was refreshing and really had my attention. I especially enjoyed one of the opening sequences where the accountant has his whole cigarette setup with the matchbox strip duck taped to the dash. It shadowed his obsessive creativity really well and is a great example of how the small things can really add up to give a film just the right feel.
ReplyDeleteThis film had my mind going in all different directions. The dialogue exchanges between each character all meant something to the story, and every new bit of information we received played into the plot, even if in some miniscule way. I think we can use this as an example in finalizing the script for our film. Every line in our film needs to mean something and push the story forward. The Accountant didn't have any kind of fluff, and that to me allowed the story to hook me.
ReplyDelete