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Yes Paul Schrader (not Martin Scorses who is billed quite big on the posters, even though he's just a producer) is and forever will be known for his script to Taxi Driver. And I reckon if you liked the dirty and quite mean outlook, he has on the world ... and his pacing when it comes to characters ... his weirdness writing them and how they behave ... irrationally at times or often, depending on how you look at it. Well there is a certain style you have to dig, to get with it.

Of course having someone like Oscar Isaac in the lead ... well it helps a lot! The man is amazing! If anything can be taken away from this, how stoic, yet fully commited emotionally his character is. Now that doesn't mean you'll understand or actually go along with his decisions. Especially when it comes to a kid he meets in a chance encounter. Quite a coincidence you say? Yes ... why does he act around him the way he does? Why does he help him? Even if not in the way the boy wants him to help? And does he know deep down, that the help might not conclude the way he imagines it will? There are a lot of things that are left up to the imagination of the viewers (pun intended and including a scene towards the end ... with the end result visible, but not explicitely shown) ... a tough movie to watch on many levels, but those who will love this, will really love it! Paul Schrader is never an easy watch ... you should know this by now.

Great cast overall by the way, but I was a bit taken back by Tiffany Haddish. I really dig her style and humor a lot. She seemed quite out of place for many reasons at first though. Her dialog felt more than wooden ... she did seem to struggle or at least it did feel like she wasn't convincing enough in more than a few occasions and with more than just a few lines she had to do. Of course when it came for her to be funny and sassy ... well needless to say she delivered and then some. Don't expect any nude delivery from her though - even though it's a Paul Schrader movie. She's a big name now. Not critisizing, good for her actually.

I thought this film was going to be about a blackjack player, but I was pleasantly surprised that it was more of a Texas Hold'em experience. The film was directed by the talented Paul Schrader and stars Oscar Issac as the gambler. It also features Willem Dafoe in a cameo. The Dafoe character is very shallow, and we have no idea about how he became the person he was. However, the character exploration of William is much better. Two other characters are also featured; Tiffany Hadish as La Linda, the romantic interest for William, and. Tye Sheridan as Cirk (as in jerk). Too much Abu Gharib torture crap and not enough pyscho-poker. At times, vaguely reminiscent of Taxi Driver due to the driven personalities of the similar protagonists, but Taxi Driver far more effective. A decent take on the miserable, lonely, depressing, and meaningless existence of gamblers, and how casinos are not exciting and fun places to be; they are quite the opposite. Family is far more important.

I so wanted to like this movie. And I did up to a point. The gambling topic and casinos are always an interesting topic to me. Seeing the Martin Scorsese name associated with it, I expected greatness. The movie had an interesting look to it. It did move slowly at times as the main character (William) was a moody, thinker type the entire film. That character trait did add drama to the story because you just didn't know whether he was sane, insane, a good guy, or bad guy. As the storyline progressed, we started seeing the dark, hidden past that haunted him. Where it fell apart for me was the final 15 or so minutes. Time and distance realities seemed to go into fantasyland and the viewer was expected to just accept the unbelievable in order to get to the movie finale. For a serious drama, I found that unacceptable. This movie can be considered a deep thinker movie and I can see some people truly liking the ending. I just felt disappointed and was hoping for a better climax to what was an interesting lead up to it.

(BTW: Blackjack card counting, assuming no devices are used to do it, is not illegal or cheating in the U. S. as someone alluded to in their review. Casinos don't like it because it can hurt their profit margin and if they suspect a person is doing it to their financial success, they can ban them from their privately-owned business property. It would be difficult to prove someone actually is doing it anyway).

Paul Schrader's new film is, to no surprise, another dark and meditative character study that seeks to analyze complex questions relating to vengeance and morality. Oscar Isaac gives a strong leading performance in the film, and his lead role was the primary reason I was interested in seeing this. I wasn't sure whether this would be that distinct and authentic a film or a more generic one, but the very strong reviews out of Venice convinced me to see it. The film's performances are generally strong and its aesthetics are potent, but its narrative doesn't hold up quite as well as one would hope.

The film's plot centers on William Tell (Isaac,) a former military interrogator who served 8.5 years in a military prison. He has an obsessive interest in poker, and plays in various tournaments while aspiring to go to the World Series of Poker. After crossing paths with a financially troubled young man (Tye Sheridan,) a plot of revenge on a former commanding officer at Abu Grahib (Williem Dafoe) comes into formation. Isaac's character acting is disciplined and methodical, while clearly conveying the character's emotional torments, erratic tendencies, and interpersonal challenges. Tye Sheridan's performance is strong and thorough as well, and does a good job articulating a genuine sense of grit. Tiffany Haddish plays a friend of Tell who often accompanies him to various poker tournaments, but her character is unfortunately not as well-utilized within the story as she could be. I love Williem Dafoe as an actor, but unfortunately he is underutilized here as well. The film's aesthetics are characteristic of Schrader and, to a lesser degree, Scorsese (who produced the movie,) but that makes them no less strong--color contrasts, rock music, wide shots in both scale and scope, and an overarching sense of grittiness. Despite these strong qualities, the film's plot unfortunately ends up becoming more predictable and uneven as it goes on, and ends up muddling its worldview and messages on morality--or the severe lack of it. The character development in the film is not always especially interesting or authentic compared to other Schrader films. Yet the acting here makes the film a decent examination of a troubled man's past and present that spans from its opening to the very powerful final shot. 7/10.

Too depressing without getting anywhere. Using music and all the scenes to create the dark and ruthless vibe, without actually letting the emotions to go places. 95% of the time it's too plain for my taste. It does discuss some deeper issue, like torturing, interrogating, revenge, PTSD, etc. It has a real tragic ending. Not a bad movie, not far from being good. Just the plot way too empty.