These two new Blu-rays go together. It’s rare that a short film gets its own release, but The Accountant did win the Oscar for live-action short. Predating the Ben Affleck Accountant by decades, it is Ray McKinnon’s directorial debut after a decade as an actor.
McKinnon plays a quirky accountant who visits a farm and deduces some uncomfortable news from the receipts. It is a vehicle for McKinnon to act and direct and clearly paved the way for subsequent features. Walton Goggins doesn’t even play the farmer, he played the farmer (Eddie King)’s brother but also got an Oscar as a producer.
The Accountant is also a bonus feature on Randy and the Mob so you don’t need both, but if you’re a big short stan you can also own just the short.
The feature film is a true quirky indie crime comedy. I’m surprised it didn’t play the Sundance Film Festival because it feels like the type of movie that would. But it played the Austin Film Festival, maybe because of the timing when it was finished or the southern them fit the Texas fest.
Walton Goggins plays the accountant in Randy and does the same awkward monotone and Irish dance McKinnon did. McKinnon gave himself the double role of Randy and his twin brother Cecil. Randy borrowed from mob loan sharks and the accountant helps him navigate the enforcers who come to collect. It is the penultimate role for the late Lisa Blount, who is missed, as Randy’s easygoing wife.
2007 was just on the cusp where McKinnon still shot Randy on film. It is higher grade than The Accountant for sure, but the Blu-ray captures the grain of the tail end of film as the dominant format.
A 25-minute behind the scenes feature is pretty extensive for an indie movie shot on 23 days. It seems they visited the set on the day where Randy falls into a garbage dump, which makes sense as it’s probably the film’s biggest stunt and most visual setup. I also learned through this that Blount was McKinnon’s wife and was involved with his productions.