Page

The Card Counter

❚ We may earn commission from links on this page. Our editorial is always independent (learn more).

Watch trailer

02:27

The Card Counter

Save

Summary

Thriller starring Oscar Isaac. Poker player William Tell lives an almost monastic life on the road, keeping a low profile to avoid the attention of the casinos. But his mysterious military past comes back to haunt him when he meets a young man who plans to kill Tell's former commanding officer.

Ad

Powered By

IMDB

Review

A star rating of 4 out of 5.

Trevor Johnston

A troubled US military veteran makes his living at the card tables of humdrum casinos in this characteristic fable of damnation and redemption from Paul Schrader. The writer/director has long explored the lives of haunted souls, and in Oscar Isaac's repressed, obsessive protagonist he has created one of his most compelling characters. Isaac plays a man who wins at poker thanks to his ability to recall every card played, but while talent manager Tiffany Haddish thinks he's ready for the bigger leagues, this convicted Abu Ghraib torturer is only just keeping his inner turmoil in check. The plot tests credibility at times as it toggles between opposing possibilities of reform or revenge, yet Isaac's intensely focused central performance and the soul-crushingly anonymous hotel-circuit milieu create a potent atmosphere of doom. With his film, Schrader makes a strong statement about US military iniquities in Iraq leaving a festering scar on the American psyche.

imdb-square

6.2/10

How to watch

Loading

Streaming

Credits

Cast

rolenameWilliam TellOscar IsaacLa LindaTiffany HaddishCirkTye SheridanMajor John GordoWillem DafoeMr USAAlexander Babara

Show more

Crew

rolenameDirectorPaul Schrader

Details

Theatrical distributor

Universal

Released on

2021-11-05

Languages

English

Guidance

Violence, swearing

Formats

Colour

News & features about The Card Counter

Ad

Ad

Ad