The Card Counter (2021)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ½

The Card Counter (2021) – P. Schrader

I have to give credit to Paul Schrader for this screenplay – it has an elegance and simplicity that weaves “current events” and philosophical weight together in a way that honours his long-standing themes and still holds together as a commercial entertainment. However, I am not sure these were the right actors to pull it off. Oscar Isaac is fine, although subdued, as the casino-haunting lead with the need for redemption (due to tragic past actions) but Tye Sheridan seems less capable of embodying the naïve young man seeking revenge for transgressions against his family.  Tiffany Haddish is only along for the ride as the conduit to high stakes poker games (and eventual love interest) – we don’t see into her character. Willem Dafoe has only a glorified cameo, looking somewhat John Boltonesque.  What might this have been with other more astute players, one can only guess. Schrader is a matter-of-fact director (although First Reformed showed a tendency toward intense surrealism that I didn’t notice in the past) – would another director have turned the screws tighter on the emotional pain inherent here? Scorsese (who produced) might have made something more operatic but that might not have honoured the impulse toward Bresson that Schrader clearly followed. Although the locations are drab and the action largely muted as in Bresson (save for a few flashbacks)  – and the use of poker tournaments as a plot device brings with it an inherent tension (and win/lose emphasis) – the film doesn’t quite capitalise on its promise.