Introduction: A low key tale of an ex-con turned professional gambler. The infamous Paul Shrader writes and directs.
Name of film: The Card Counter
Director: Paul Shrader
Year: 2021
Official Poster
Trailer
Review
This revenge thriller tells the story of an ex-military interrogator turned gambler, haunted by the ghosts of his past. Redemption is his aim. Shrader wrote the screenplay for Taxi Driver directed by Martin Scorcese with Robert De Niro in his breakout role. Lonely, angst ridden, isolated men seem to be Shrader's trademark. And here, he tracks another isolated loner. Shrader says: "At the time I wrote Taxi Driver. I was in a rather low and bad place. I had broken with Pauline I had broken with my wife, I had broken with the woman I left my wife for, I had broken with the American Film Institute and I was in debt." His strict Calvinist parents, refused to allow him to see a film until he was 18. In his heyday, Shrader more than made up for his late entry into movies. Still, it wasn't until the excellent dramatic thriller, First Reformed (2017) starring Ethan Hawke, that he received his first Oscar nomination. In The Card Counter, Oscar Isaac has the title role as a charismatic blackjack player, “William Tell,” a brooding and a commanding presence. Isaac’s character is a shadow, designed not to leave a trace. He is constantly on the move, working the bottom end of the gambling circuit. La Linda played by Tiffany Haddish, sees his potential and wants to recruit him to her stable of gamblers. And Cirk (Tye Sheridan), a lost teenager with a vague plan, hopes to persuade him to seek revenge on a mutual enemy, Willem Dafoe. There are many good points to this film - The cinematography by Alexander Dynan is excellent. The electro score by Robert Levon Been (of the rock band Black Rebel Motorcycle Club) & Giancarlo Vulcano, rumbles through promising a lot of threat and violence. These, with Isaac's solid performance and Sheridan's likeable performance are unfortunately where good things end for The Card Counter. Haddish is badly miscast and looks ill at ease in her role, while her and Isaac miss chemistry. Much of the promise of is hindered by a vague story-line. This movie really is too slow and brooding - the razor sharp dialogue for which Shrader is famous, is absent. There are scenes that go nowhere, there are many blind alleys in the storytelling and too many cinematic devices that seem to be only there for their visual impact, rather than to develop Isaac's character - and Shrader is usually so good at character development - who can forget De Niro's, Travis Bickle? Nevertheless, The Card Counter has been included on a number of year-end critic best of lists and The New Yorker magazine named Isaac's performance as one of the top 10 of the year. This reviewer is not so sure. It did keep me watching to the end, but ultimately it is a disappointment given Shrader's rich history.
A slow moving, polished mood piece and oddly convoluted.
My favourite scene: Bet small and win modestly
Number of SUBs out of 10 - 3 out of 10
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