Have you ever wanted to learn to play poker like a pro? "The Card Counter" explains how some gambling techniques work, though it's really about something else entirely.

Synopsis

William Tell (Oscar Isaac) lives and breathes casino games, from blackjack to roulette. Though Bill is a genius player who has mastered card counting, he never bets big, keeping him off the radar of the ruthless casino world.

Yet Bill is clearly a broken man seeking peace, and soon two encounters will upend his orderly life. The charming La Linda (Tiffany Haddish) becomes his guide into the world of high-stakes poker, while the sullen Cirk (Tye Sheridan) forces Bill to confront his dark past.

"The Card Counter" Is Not for Everyone

Leaving the theater, viewers may form certain impressions of what they've seen.

First, the film is far from entertaining. There's no vibrant imagery (though a couple of scenes are so beautifully shot they take your breath away, but between them are so many gray and unappealing frames that those scenes are forgotten), no brisk action scenes, no easily digestible moral.

Second, like poker players, the lead actors show minimal emotion, rarely revealing their characters' feelings, and speak in a very monotone voice. This makes the oppressive atmosphere seem boring and the dialogues drawn out.

Third, the inimitable Willem Dafoe is criminally underused. If you went to the cinema because you saw his name on the poster, you'll be bitterly disappointed, as he's in the film for maybe 6-7 minutes.

After all this, despite its undeniable merits, "The Card Counter" may evoke more dislike and dissatisfaction than anything positive. And that's a real shame.

Because "The Card Counter" is one of the best films to hit screens in the last couple of years.

The Genius of the Film Lies in the Details

Almost all of the film's flaws (except perhaps the lack of Dafoe) can be explained one way or another, and they work in their own way.

The grayness and facelessness envelop you so that the bright, beautiful, and tense scenes cut like a knife by contrast. The feeling of tension never lets up. It always seems like something is about to happen, so that when something finally does happen, the viewer is jolted properly.

The actors do hold back, but when they let their emotions out... Oh my god, when they let their emotions out. Oscar Isaac is incomparable. Tye Sheridan is incomparable. The entire film hinges on them and their relationship, and when they shed their feigned indifference, the author of this article experienced true catharsis.

"The Card Counter" deceives you, instills a false sense of drawn-out dullness, only to pull the rug out from under you when it needs to. Hollywood directors haven't pulled off such a masterful and stylish trick in a long time. Bravo, Paul Schrader.

And let's pause for a moment on the characters. At some point, the viewer completely fails to understand why a certain character did something utterly stupid and inconsistent, only to slap their forehead and think: "But that action fits perfectly with the character's logic!" Not a single scene betrays the characters' nature. And that's amazing.

Finally, note that "The Card Counter" is a kind of antithesis to the acclaimed "The Queen's Gambit", where the main character is also a genius traveling from competition to competition. But Schrader's view of this phenomenon differs radically from "The Queen's Gambit" in both Bill's motivation and his emotional involvement in the process. It turned out to be a very interesting contrast.

Unflattering America

I want to highlight an extremely interesting feature of the film separately.

How often do you watch a film and wonder why America is again shown as so clean, democratic, and generally a land of dreams? The savior of humanity is again from the USA, declarations of love are again directed at the USA. If you judge only by cinema, America is practically paradise on earth, everything bad happens due to accidents and exceptions, and its people are so wonderful that even their flaws are shown as virtues.

And then suddenly a film like "Sicario" by Denis Villeneuve comes out, which isn't afraid to show certain aspects in their raw form, without any hint of trying to cover up or justify the actions of some American citizens.

"The Card Counter" is exactly that kind of film. It takes one of the truly unsightly pages in the history of the noble United States and shows it in all its "glory." It doesn't seek excuses, though it tries to understand why things happened the way they did. For that courage alone, the film deserves the highest praise.

Conclusion

Despite my unconditional love and complete enchantment, I don't know how to recommend this film. You might not like it, and that's perfectly normal. But if you're ready to work hard to understand this film, if going to the cinema won't be a rest after a workday, then the incomparable "The Card Counter" is absolutely, completely, unequivocally a must-watch.

Right now.