Guilt and atonement. These are Paul Schrader’s favourite subjects as screenwriter and director. He did this in the urban dramas by Martin Scorsese (Taxi Driver, Bringing Out the Dead) and in the movies he directed as well, such as the tough and dark Hardcore, the glamour noir American Gigolo and the painful Light Sleeper. The Card Counter is another chapter of this personal essay.
William Tell is a former military inquisitor and also, inherent contradiction, a thoughtful gambler. He leads a measured life that is shaken when he meets Cirk, a young man looking for vengeance towards a common enemy. Cirk is supported in his task by Linda, a mysterious woman who works in the financial business. Linda introduces Will in the casinò system but this switch brings back hidden and forgotten memories.
Oscar Isaac is William Tell and he’s also one the busiest star of Venice 78. He’s also in the massive cast of Denis Villeneuve sci-fi blockbuster Dune and half of the couple of the tv series based on Scenes from a Marriage, a modern remake of Ingrid Bergman’s masterpiece. Cirk is played by the young and talented Tye Sheridan (Ready Player One) and the main cast is completed by Tiffany Haddish and one of Schrader’s favourites Willem Dafoe.
Oscar Isaac stars as William Tell and Tiffany Haddish as La Linda in THE CARD COUNTER, a Focus Features release.
Credit: Courtesy of Focus Features
Paul Schrader is a frequent guest at the Venice Film Festival. He brought here during the years First Reformed, The Canyons, Affliction, The Comfort of Strangers, the latter set in mysterious and elegiac Venice and based upon one of the most intriguing novels by Ian McEwan.
Paul Schrader says about The Card Counter:
“William Tell is a lonely man in a hotel room. He plays poker wasting time and carries a weight. Then something happened”.
Dry and precise. Just like a gambler discovering his cards in the great casinò of the American movie industry.
Alessandro De Simone
The Card Counter
USA, 2021, Directed by Paul Schrader, with Oscar Isaac, Tye Sheridan, Willem Dafoe, Tiffany Haddish, Lenght 105’ Distribution Lucky Red
