The Card Counter review: Paul Schrader, Oscar Isaac, and Tiffany Haddish are all in

Writer-director Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver, First Reformed) has long been fascinated with troubled protagonists in search of redemption, a concept he returns to with The Card Counter, a tense and engrossing new drama about a former Abu Ghraib interrogator who now makes his living gambling across the U.S.

Oscar Isaac stars as William Tell, a quiet man who travels throughout the States counting cards, a complicated mathematical skill that allows him to keep himself flush until he hits the next desolate casino. Tell isn’t in it for the glamour; he eschews the big ritzy casinos for the sort of off-the-highway dens that likely haven’t changed their carpets since the early ‘70s. Even with his card counting skills, he doesn’t play big; he aims for small wins that won’t register with anyone. He wants to get in and get out, unnoticed.

That plan begins to fall by the wayside when Tell is approached by a sleek woman named La Linda (Tiffany Haddish). La Linda runs a stable of card players across the country, which she links up with wealthy investors looking to back their talent (for a sizable cut of the winnings). Convinced that Tell has what it takes to join the big leagues, she tries to recruit him, but to no avail.

Tell’s carefully orchestrated and methodical lifestyle soon begins to sputter out of control when he stumbles upon a seminar given by Major John Gordo (Willem Dafoe). Gordo was instrumental in crafting the torture techniques Tell was instructed to apply at Abu Ghraib, and he can’t resist getting a look at him after so many years. Tell quickly leaves the seminar, but on his way out he’s approached by a young man named Cirk (Tye Sheridan) who implores Tell to get in touch with him.

Cirk blames Major Gordo for his father’s death, and the ensuing hardships he’s had to face throughout his life. He wants to exact revenge on Gordo, and hopes to convince Tell to help him with his scheme. As the two develop a bond on the road, Tell decides the best way to help the troubled Cirk is by giving him the opportunities he never had; he joins forces with the charismatic La Linda and throws his hat into big-time gambling. He just wants to win enough to set Cirk up for a new life, in the hopes he will leave his soul-consuming obsession with Gordo alone. But like with any great Schrader film, the obsession at the heart of the story must play itself out.

Released just ahead of the 20th-anniversary of the September 11 attacks, The Card Counter pushes audiences to wrestle with one of Schrader’s most despicable characters yet, a man who beat, humiliated, and tortured prisoners at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Schrader doesn’t make this easy; employing the endlessly charismatic Oscar Isaac as the lead, the first half of the film is focused on Tell’s desire to simply be left to his own devices. He’s not an outsider seeking to fit into a world that shuns him like Taxi Driver’s Travis Bickle, perhaps Schrader’s most well-known creation (or at least the only one you can snap up as a Funko POP).

It’s hard not to sympathize with Tell, which is Schrader’s way of turning the tables on the audience; how can you sympathize with the devil? (And should you?) Whether viewers ultimately find Tell a redeemable character is almost beside the point; Schrader has crafted another striking and morally ambiguous tale of people living on the margins of society and the ways in which they seek out their own semblance of redemption.

What’s unique about The Card Counter is the ambitious number of tones and genres it tackles. The film bristles with energy as a crime caper about how big time gambling really works, complete with Isaac’s voice-over and on-screen text describing the art of counting cards. It also functions as an enjoyable romantic drama with Isaac and Haddish, as well as a hallucinogenic and harrowing look at the madness of war.

With Schrader’s visual flair intact (the Abu Ghraib sequences are a topsy-turvy nightmare) and excellent performances from the trio at the heart of the film (more like this from Tiffany Haddish please!), The Card Counter is a complex look at an unsavory character trying to redeem himself. The ultimate justifications the narrative provides may not work for everyone, but you have to admire Schrader for continuing to eagerly push buttons at this stage in his career. It’s always hard to know who to root for in Schrader’s films, and you can almost feel him delighting in putting audiences through the wringer with this one. If that sounds appealing, grab yourself a seat at the table, but remember – the house always wins.

The Card Counter is in theaters now.