The Card Counter
Short description
The Card Counter follows William Tell, a former soldier who now makes a quiet living as a professional poker player, moving from casino to casino and betting small so as not to draw attention. His careful routine is interrupted when he meets Cirk, a young man consumed by a plan for revenge against a military colonel. Tell takes an interest in the younger man and tries to steer him away from violence, while a backer named La Linda offers to stake him in higher-stakes play. A decisive tournament and the pull of the past soon put more than money at risk.
Paul Schrader wrote and directed the film, his nineteenth feature as director in chronological order, arriving after First Reformed and before Master Gardener. Oscar Isaac plays Tell, with Tiffany Haddish as La Linda, Tye Sheridan as Cirk and Willem Dafoe as Gordo. The production was a co-production between the United States, the United Kingdom, China and Sweden.
Released in September 2021, the film earned about 5 million dollars worldwide, a modest return against its production scale. Audiences were mixed: on IMDb it holds 6.2 from roughly 47,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.1 from around 1,100 votes. Critics were more favourable, giving it 7.6 from 227 reviews, so the film was better received by reviewers than by the wider viewing public.
What's left behind the scenes
- Shia LaBeouf left the project due to being busy. Nicolas Cage, a close friend of director and screenwriter Paul Schrader, recommended he invite Tay Sheridan, with whom he had worked on David Gordon Green's crime drama "Joe" (2013), for the role.
- The film's budget was so small that each scene was shot with a maximum of two takes.
- As preparation for the role, Oscar Isaac spoke with professional gamblers and practiced calligraphy (as his character keeps a diary).
- Paul Schrader located former Leavenworth prisoners through the social network "Facebook" to learn about life in the military prison.
- The reason Oscar Isaac's character drapes the furniture in the motel room with white fabric is never explained to the audience. This practice began in 1982 when Schrader was filming "Cat People," and production designer Ferdinando Scarfiotti did the same in an attempt to somehow embellish the purely utilitarian style and appearance of furniture in American motels.
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