The Card Counter (2021)

Directed by: Paul Schrader | 112 minutes | crime, drama | Actors: Oscar Isaac, Tiffany Haddish, Tye Sheridan, Willem Dafoe, Alexander Babara, Bobby C. King, Ekaterina Baker, Bryan Truong, Dylan Flashner, Adrienne Lau, Joel Michaely

In the revenge thriller ‘The Card Counter’, poker player William Tell (Oscar Isaac) roams from American place to place in semi-professional tournaments that bring in just enough prize money to get by on a daily basis. But he doesn’t spend much. Without the glamor of Las Vegas, Tell stays in cheap motels and his nomadic life is contained in a single suitcase. As a hedonistic monk in a black-grey suit, Tell lives mainly for a balanced state of mind at the poker table, a routine existence. Moreover, the ex-serviceman does not like to be in the spotlight. He recently served a sentence for his role in the torture of prisoners in Abu-Ghraib at the start of the Iraq War (2003-2011). But all that changes when Tell meets the young Cirk (Tye Sheridan). Cirk is the son of a convicted fellow soldier who committed suicide after struggling with his part in Abu Ghraib. Out of guilt, Tell takes care of Cirk and introduces him to the poker circuit, perhaps offering him a nice way out. However, for which of the two is this a redemption?

Director Paul Schrader is pretty much married to the subject of the loner with a dark past. Schrader’s obsession with self-destructive men already goes back to his screenplay for ‘Taxi Driver’ (Martin Scorsese, 1976). As if it were a specialization, Schrader went on to make films about a bored prostitute in ‘American Gigolo’ (1980), a regretful optant and drug dealer for the rich in ‘Light Sleeper’ (1992), a male chaperone in Washington DC in ‘The Walker ‘ (2007) and a drinking pastor in ‘First Reformed’ (2017). All these men, from different backgrounds and occupations, struggle with some form of guilt and the trauma that results. Because Schrader always dives deep into a certain environment, his cinematic quest for the incapacity of these damaged misfits continues to fascinate, as in the nail-biting ‘The Card Counter’.

The majority of the cast in ‘The Card Counter’ performs strongly under the direction of Schrader. Isaac plays the stoic Tell diligently with plenty of room for ambiguity. A sea of ​​emotions swirls behind its cold facade. The comedienne Tiffany Haddish is quite the odd one out with the character La Linda. Haddish doesn’t seem to be cast quite right. Yet she drags herself through the film and you understand that her charisma can break Tell’s tough skin. The passionate young actor Sheridan plays his character Cirk in a laconic position and is never quite fathomable, a walking time bomb. Finally, a small supporting role by Willem Dafoe, with his devilish smile, casts a large shadow over the other characters. Not many actors can instill fear to that extent physically and mentally without having the stereotypical posture.

Visually, ‘The Card Counter’ is almost literally a gray mouse and at times tastes like a ‘B’ movie. The color palette of the filming locations almost only consists of gray, blue and black tones. All motels and poker halls therefore resemble each other and thus form an endless parade of sadness, referring to the emptiness in the life of poker player Tell. In addition, the film emits an ominous soundtrack of synthesizers, as if an unknown monster is banging against the surface of your sleep. The music was composed by Robert Levon Been of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, whose father Michael Been also wrote songs for Schrader’s ‘Light Sleeper’. Following the great example of French director Robert Bresson, Schrader is also an avid user of the voice-over in his films, which offers extra insight into the mental state of the main character. It’s a shame that the general dimmed tone of ‘The Card Counter’ sometimes works against itself, causing the story tempo to slow down at some point.

‘The Card Counter’ is fascinating almost from start to finish and does not avoid controversy, like the criminal acts in Abu Ghraib, quite a dent in the American soul. However, during the final the revenge plot derails. A trashy ending seems like a repetitive shortcoming for Schrader, see also ‘American Gigolo’ and ‘First Reformed’. Nevertheless, you may wonder how it could be otherwise with so many pent up emotions? All in all, Tell’s hellgang offers enough challenge for both the Schrader fan and a newcomer, but for the latter it is not the best entry into his oeuvre.