“Mr. Wolff²,” on Prime Video: the comic transformation of the underworld accountant

PRIME VIDEO – ON DEMAND – FILM

A reunion with Christian Wolff, the autistic mob accountant and elite fighter, wasn't expected much. The character created by Ben Affleck in 2015 remained a vague memory of a gloomy killing machine, endowed by his creators (Affleck, the producer; Bill Dubuque, the screenwriter; Gavin O'Connor, the director) with a characteristic—in this case, neurodivergence—that allows him to be distinguished from the countless cohorts of his colleagues.

To revive Mr. Wolff, his creators injected him with a dose of humor that does him a world of good. After the indispensable pre-credits massacre (during which our hero is conspicuous by his absence), we find the accountant lost in the Midwest, where he tries his luck at a speed dating event, convinced he's cracked the organizers' algorithm. A bit overweight, Ben Affleck exaggerates the character's clumsiness, without fear of ridicule.

This almost burlesque dimension (for sophistication, better look elsewhere) runs throughout the film. Called to the rescue by Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson), a high-ranking American official who wants to find the perpetrators of the aforementioned massacre, Christian Wolff in turn calls on his brother Braxton (Jon Bernthal), a hitman whose mental age (around 8 years old) has not prevented him from becoming one of the luminaries of his profession.

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