The Card Counter (2021)

R09/03/2021Drama, Thriller, Crime1h 51m

He's Playing the Hand He Was Dealt.

Overview

William Tell just wants to play cards. His spartan existence on the casino trail is shattered when he is approached by Cirk, a vulnerable and angry young man seeking help to execute his plan for revenge on a military colonel. Tell sees a chance at redemption through his relationship with Cirk. But keeping Cirk on the straight-and-narrow proves impossible, dragging Tell back into the darkness of his past.

Top Billed Cast

  1. Cast 1

    Oscar Isaac

    William Tell

  2. Cast 1

    Tiffany Haddish

    La Linda

  3. Cast 1

    Tye Sheridan

    Cirk

  4. Cast 1

    Willem Dafoe

    Gordo

  5. Cast 1

    Alexander Babara

    Mr. USA

  6. Cast 1

    Bobby C. King

    Slippery Joe

  7. Cast 1

    Ekaterina Baker

    Sara

  8. Cast 1

    Bryan Truong

    Minnesota

  9. Cast 1

    Dylan Flashner

    Sergeant Hoskins

It’s fitting that The Card Counter’s protagonist’s last name is Tell. Not because he has one (as played by Oscar Isaac, he doesn’t have a poker face so much as he is perennially inexpressive), but because writer/director Paul Schrader (unusually phoning it in) lazily favors ‘telling’ over 'showing.’ One would think that the dude who’s written or co-written arguably the top four Martin Scorsese films could come up with something better than a glorified poker tutorial, complete with visual aids. To put it in perspective, consider Robert Altman’s infinitely superior California Split, in whi...