By Gilberto Campa
Most films that tackle gambling whether it’s from a serious perspective or a ridiculous one can be very entertaining in certain aspects. In the case of “The Card Counter,” much of those familiar elements are involved on paper, starting with the director and the actors involved. Paul Shrader has directed a wide variety of films that include The Comfort of Strangers, First Reformed, Dog Eat Dog, and more. This time around he dabbles into the gambling world with his latest project. With the official endorsement from Martin Scorsese, that brings just a little bit of expectation which could affect how you view this movie. Right from the start the tone, setting, and overall “flow” of the film are established as we are introduced to William Tell (Oscar Issac) who lives a very isolated and boring life.
Due to actions from his past, much of William’s life revolves around going from city to city, casino to casino winning money (but not too much) so he avoids trouble. Oscar Issac brings familiar elements from some other projects he’s done such as (A Most Violent Year, Drive, Ex. Machina) to this character and it was intriguing to see. The rest of the movie has some very misplaced casting in some respects as Tye Sheridan who plays Kirk is a little bit useless in the story. I think casting someone different in the role could have worked better to help me appreciate his arch more. On the other hand, Tiffany Haddish (La Linda) tries to spark up some of the scenes with her humor in the right moments, but her impact wasn’t completely felt either. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t appreciate her continued attempts at more dramatic roles, it wasn’t unbearable like it could be at other times, but it was ok for me.
The story itself is a very long and slow burn, which isn’t always uninteresting but that may not be the ideal situation for most moviegoers. It tries to bring you into the world of a card counter/gambler by explaining how to count cards, play poker, etc, it just wasn’t done in a way that you could understand (think Rounders but not as engaging). Strangely enough about halfway through the film, the real story reveals itself, as it’s more about Will dealing with his incarceration and PTSD from being a torture specialist in Afghanistan. Through a series of very graphic flashback scenes, they show you just how horrible those conditions are, which may be too much for some people. Overall, the character work from Oscar Issac is what made this movie somewhat entertaining, besides that there isn’t much else to enjoy. In other instances, with similar films, there are more aspects that make films like these captivating, but The Card Counter just fell flat (like a house of cards) for me.