The Card Counter

Starring: Oscar Isaac, Tiffany Haddish, Tye Sheridan, Willem Dafoe, Alexander Babara
Directed by: Paul Schrader
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
2021

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A gambler (Oscar Isaac) lives his post-military, post-prison life according to a strict set of guidelines. When he meets a potential backer (Tiffany Haddish) and the son (Tye Sheridan) of a former military colleague, his life begins to take an unexpected turn.

Review:

Tim: This is the third Paul Schrader film I've seen (after Affliction and First Reformed), so I pretty much knew I was getting into. The film would be intense, artistically directed. The pace would be slow, character development the priority. It would feature strong performances from good actors, who leverage Schrader's style to deliver exceptional work. I'd probably be impressed and ambiguous about the events of the film. These things all played out exactly as expected with The Card Counter. I know Schrader has directed some pretty bad movies over the years, but those aren't ones I've seen. I've thoroughly enjoyed all his movies, including this one.

Look, The Card Counter has flaws, I'm not going to deny that. It's definitely a bit too slow and the story develops in a few odd ways. The big climactic finish isn't quite as powerful as Schrader thinks it is. One of the main cast members is a bad actor, there's no way around that. But, I mostly enjoyed this film and that's where I want to focus. I was interested in this complex character- William Tell. He saw (and participated in) horrors during war time. He unwillingly took the fall for others' war crimes. Went to prison, kind of liked it. Learned to count cards, became a conservative gambler when he got out. That's an amazing story. Each aspect of this character's life shows us a different side of him and as the film progresses, we're transfixed by his story, curious where it is going and how it will end. I always enjoy movies where the main character's life slowly veers off course, either through their own decisions or random encounters with life. Schrader does a nice job of establishing a truly interesting character and taking us on a journey with him. Schrader isn't in a hurry to get anywhere, but my attention was held throughout this 1 hour, 51 minute run time.

Now, a big reason this all works is the strong performance by Oscar Isaac. Isaac obviously didn't receive any big award nominations, although he picked up several smaller ones. I get it, but that doesn't mean Isaac isn't wonderful in this role. The challenge is that the role is subdued, restrained. Isaac so rarely gets to show any real emotion. He's withdrawn into himself- but he plays this character so well, you can almost see what's bubbling beneath the surface. I was mesmerized by his work here, so intrigued by his character. Isaac draws the audience in, makes this character even more interesting. I really enjoyed the humanity he brought to this character in small ways. Why does this movie work? It starts with Isaac. I'm a big Tye Sheridan fan and I loved that he played this role. I think he has the ability to do just about anything and I'm so happy he is choosing roles like this. This small supporting role won't get him noticed by most viewers, but those who do will walk away truly impressed by this young actor. It's roles like this, getting to play opposite Isaac and under Schrader that will help him continue to refine his craft. He's really good in this role. Many of my favorite moments were betweeen Isaac and Sheridan (they were both in X-Men: Apocalypse, but the result wasn't like this).

I always love seeing Willem Dafoe and his role here is good. The problem is that he gets so little screen time. I truly wondered why he bothered. He's effective and he makes the movie better, but he only gets a few brief scenes. It felt like Schrader underutilized his ability. I wouldn't have minded a 3 or 4 minute longer movie if Dafoe could have snagged more screen time. To round out the cast, we have Tiffany Haddish. I have to be upfront- I've never been a big Haddish fan. I think her only acting talent is to be over-the-top, borderline ridiculous. That works (somewhat) in absurd comedies where she can play a larger-than-life character. It was so interesting to see her try and simper down that energy for this role. I have to be honest, I thought her performance was pretty awful. Isaac is over here delivering tremendous work. Sheridan is proving he's going to be a future star. Dafoe is always consistent. And then, you have Haddish trying her best, but failing. Her line delivery numerous times was just awful. I felt no genuineness in her performance. She has no real chemistry with Isaac. Haddish greatly hurts this movie and I have no idea why she was cast, nor why she wasn't fired early on. A better actress in this role would have helped the film immensely. She is simply not a good actress.

Despite that, I really enjoyed The Card Counter. It's a slow burn, but a fascinating character study of complex, broken people. It mixes several different elements together especially well and it held my attention throughout. I recognize I liked this movie a lot more than the average viewer, although critics seemed to be a fan. I have to go with them (surprisingly). This movie works well, especially if you understand what you're going to get when you sit down.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: First Reformed, Affliction, Drive, A Most Violent Year