THE ACCOUNTANTACADEMY AWARD FOR LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM

CAST:

Ray McKinnon - The Accountant

Eddie King - David O'Dell

Walton Goggins - Tommy O'Dell

Gary Richardson - One-armed farmer

Release Date: January 2001 (USA)

The Accountant - a short film directed in 2001 by Ray McKinnon…may be a movie that some Polish film lovers remember as the one which defeated at Oscars our own excellent Polish contender (“Man thing”, or - as we know it - “Męska sprawa” by Sławomir Fabicki).

BUT IT’S SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT.

This weird dark comedy takes on the difficult topics of crisis and corrupting consumer society – slyly adding an element of conspiracy theories. The story is set in the American south – on one of many farms fighting to survive in a really tough economic climate. O’Dell brothers – to whom the farm belongs – have run out of options of how to save the family business. They desperately need help…Or, to be more accurate, what they really need is a miracle.

 

THE SAVIOUR

The accountant of the title – who seems to take pride in collecting every bad habit from chain smoking to heavy drinking – is probably the only person in the world able to save the farm – together with the traditional way of life in the American south which is falling apart in the times of crisis.

With every twist and unconventional character moment (especially the ending…) we begin to understand – while laughing uncomfortably – that under all the layers of black humour lies a truly resonant and challenging topic.The makers of the film went on to succeed in their future film endeavors – especially in TV industry with acclaimed series such as the Shield or Justified…and Walton Goggins (who plays the brother of the farm’s owner) might just be the most interesting and original actor on American television right now.

On a final note, what makes this short film even more impressive is the fact that it took on the topics widely discussed in art when the real crisis arrived in 2008 – seven years earlier. And yet, even now – in 2015 – one would be hard-pressed to find a vision commenting on those themes as original and compelling.