The Card Counter

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.

William Tell is a gambler and former serviceman released from prison who sets out to reform a young man seeking help to execute a plan for revenge on a military colonel.

Writer/director Paul Schrader offers a immersive arthouse, character driven drama. It avoids all the glitzy settings, putting the underbelly of gambling on display from the point of view of a flawed, troubled, gifted card-counter with no abode on display.

Oscar Isaac delivers a multilayered method acting performance and commands the screen. Tiffany Haddish does a great turn at acting. Notable is edgy Tye Sheridan. Willem Dafoe screen time is limited but impactful and essential. Robert Levon Been music is completely fitting, like the on location feel adding atmosphere and credence.

Isaac's voice over is utilised well and welcomed like Schrader's haunting telling dream sequences. It's not mainstream viewing and this may be a godsend for some in a flooded market of mediocre, it's not the greatest film ever made but it's gripping and well made in its own right.

Overall, its grim, compelling and has a lot to say about the society, the military and revenge without spoon feeding it to the viewer.

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.

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.

Whilst the final act is engaging, the journey to get there is slow, at times to the point of tedium. The story takes us from casino to casino, never truly giving a sense of where we'll end up, not really giving us a reason to care.

The dialogue has moments of humanity, but more often than not it felt heavy-handed, as if the film was written by a first-year film student attempting to prove their genius to their peers. Isaac's performance is good, given his main direction was probably along the lines of "don't give away your emotions, but remember that your past hurts." Sheridan is given very little to work with in terms of bringing his character to life, although one scene in particular allows his character a moment of relatability. Haddish brought the most lively performance of the main cast, but her characterization is probably the weakest. Defoe isn't on the screen long enough that his performance would pull the film one way or another.

I'm firmly on the fence about the visual style of the film. There are times where the angles used in conversation highlight the fact that you're hearing dialogue written for a movie, and not experiencing a conversation between people. Additionally, there are many shots that linger for what feels like an eternity, without the emotional weight or stunning beauty that usually demands that kind of visual style, leaving you wondering when the film will be allowed to resume. This includes some of the transitions between scenes.

Finally, the audio in this film has some strange moments, including phasing between mics, varying levels in the dialogue within a scene (if often sounds like switching between two mic positions or different takes), or ADR that doesn't quite match what you're seeing on the screen.

All told, The Card Counter sets out to tell a story of redemption and reckoning with your past. It manages to do so, but isn't particularly compelling along the way.