Redemption is the long game in Paul Schrader’s “The Card Counter.” Told with Schrader’s trademark cinematic intensity, the revenge thriller tells the story of an ex-military interrogator-turned-gambler haunted by the ghosts of his past.
Although the game of poker, as well as gambling in general, constitutes the framework for the plot of “The Card Counter,” be in no doubt that this film has deeper, darker themes on its mind. Oscar Isaac, who plays the self-styled William Tell, thoroughly dominates the screen during this lonely man’s sojourn in search of redemption.
Tell makes his modest living playing poker, hopping from one casino to another, never staying long enough to wear out his welcome or arouse suspicion that he’s figured out how to beat the system. Early on, his voice-over narration describes the basic elements of counting in such a straightforward fashion, it makes you wonder why so many gamblers lose anyway.
Audiences can be forgiven for believing this might be another poker movie. It’s not. As with most or all of director Paul Schrader’s films, something sinister lurks beneath the surface. The darker core of the narrative focuses on a young Tell’s indoctrination into the methods of torture by Major John Gordo (Willem Dafoe) at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. The detainees occupy filthy cell blocks that reek of steam and excrement. The scenes are photographed through a fish-eye lens, which enhances the grotesque and surreal atmosphere it depicts. Gordo encourages Tell to use his imagination when interrogating prisoners by employing depraved techniques pioneered in Latin America.
After the war crimes became known to an outraged public, soldiers such as Tell who appeared in selfies were prosecuted, while officers operating in the background like Gordo were not. As a result, Tell spends the better part of ten years in Leavenworth – an experience he found surprisingly more tolerable than expected. During his sentence, he learned to count and handle cards, thus paving the way for his post-prison career.
At a chance encounter during a hotel convention pitching military equipment, Tell meets Cirk (Tye Sheridan) whose father served under Gordo at the Abu Ghraib house of horrors – later committing suicide over his guilt. Cirk is estranged from his mother and oppressed by a mountain of college debt for a degree he never completed. He makes no secret of his desire to punish Gordo, now a military contractor, for the spiritual and physical demise of his father. It is in Cirk that Tell sees an opportunity for salvation perhaps for both of them. Tell takes the young lad under his wing, offering to pay their expenses out of his winnings as they tour casinos around the country.
Along the way, Tell runs into La Linda (Tiffany Haddish) – someone he played against a few times in the past – who now manages a stable of card sharps bankrolled by wealth investors. Though Tell makes clear to La Linda that he prefers to fly under the radar, he has a change of heart when he realizes the tournament circuit offers an opportunity to free Cirk from his accumulated financial and emotional burdens.
The push and pull between Tell and Cirk suggest an interesting father-son dynamic missing from both their lives. Similarly, the budding friendship between Tell and La Linda hints at still further opportunities for deliverance from past transgressions.
The stylistic flourishes borrow from Schrader’s early work, such as “American Gigolo,” as well as those of the renowned French filmmaker Robert Bresson. Compelling, yet cryptic, this exploration provides more subtlety than the nonetheless excellent “First Reformed” with Ethan Hawke – which tended to serve up its environmental message a bit heavy-handedly. In this case, while viewers will likely learn a few things about games of chance, “The Card Counter” will linger long after leaving the theater for altogether different reasons.
In Theaters Friday, September 10th
