Movie Review: The Card Counter (2021)

Genre: Drama  

Director: Paul Schrader  

Starring: Oscar Isaac, Willem Dafoe, Tye Sheridan, Tiffany Haddish  

Running Time: 112 minutes  

Synopsis: Convicted for his role in the Abu Ghraib prison atrocities, former US Army soldier William Tell (Oscar Isaac) uses his time behind bars to learn blackjack card counting. Once released, he travels between casinos keeping a low profile and aiming for modest winnings. William is also a good poker player, and stable manager La Linda (Tiffany Haddish) offers to bankroll him. At a security convention, William meets Cirk (Tye Sheridan), a young man plotting revenge on retired Major John Gordo (Willem Dafoe), who was instrumental in teaching torture techniques during the Iraq War. William takes Cirk under his wing to keep him out of trouble, and turns to the poker circuit to raise a large amount of money in a hurry.

What Works Well: Stylish cinematography conveys a sense of resigned desperation in the seen-one-seen'em-all hotel casinos and poker rooms where gamblers go to work. A stone-faced Oscar Isaac hides behind shades and conveys a man-on-a-mission-to-disappear vibe, pausing only long enough to wrap motel room furniture in white sheets.

What Does Not Work As Well: Despite the involvement of producer Martin Scorsese, the cards are drawn from different decks and suffer from shiftless lethargy. The plot meanders from blackjack to poker, from gambling drama to the emotional scars of war, from low-key winnings to in-the-spotlight tournaments, and from a one-person character study to another person's not-even-half-baked revenge plot. Unsurprisingly, the internally inconsistent dramatic components falter like scattered chips in a mess of misguided bets. William's transformation from loner to father figure is unconvincing, Willem Dafoe barely features and need not have bothered, a crucial confrontation is omitted, an irritating poker foe is built-up and left hanging, and Tiffany Haddish's character adds nothing of value.

Key Quote:

Major Gordo: This is where all the good stuff happens.

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