Card counting is actually a skill for when you play against the house. It has no use in poker where you’re playing against civilians. As the film turns from blackjack to poker about ten minutes in and never leaves, you’ll forgive me if I call the title “misleading,” yes?
William Tell (yes, “William Tell”) – and “Tell” is an awfully silly surname for a championship-level poker player, no? – craves routine. Inured by almost ten years of prison, he lives a life that has neither surprise nor change. He counts cards to pay the bills, and by bills, I mean motel expenses so that he can drift from town-to-town, lounge in casinos, count cards at blackjack, and make just enough money so that nobody cares. His knowledge retention and single expression make him an ideal poker player … but poker means higher stakes. Higher stakes means routines change. William Tell (Oscar Isaac) isn’t going to target himself for that.
Our hero went to prison for being one of the GI faces at Abu Ghraib. Good Lord, are we still on Abu Ghraib? That was, like, six hundred scandals ago? It’s so out, it’s back in thanks to the 20th anniversary of 9/11; is that why this film exists? William is not exactly living a life of penance; he isn’t living at all. His “life” consists entirely on the road making little impression. He has no desire to connect with other humans. He has no desire to leave a trace; everywhere he goes, he takes white sheets and twine to sanitize all motel furniture from his impression … or at least that’s my interpretation. The film never says, but he doesn’t strike me as a germophobe.
The Abu Ghraib part is where we have a story, or something resembling it. Intrigued by the random appearance of a former black-ops contractor (Willem Dafoe) who taught the book on how to torture people, Tell sits in on a weapons seminar. This is where he meets Cirk (Tye Sheridan), a misguided young adult who learned fashion watching the first ten minutes of White Boy Rick. Cirk’s father, like William Tell, was ruined by the blowback from Abu Ghraib. Gordo (Dafoe) escaped without punishment, just like all the brass who authorized it. Cirk wants revenge. Tell takes pity 
on him and signs with poker recruiter, La Linda (Tiffany Haddish), to do something about it.
Gee, Tiffany, I have no idea what you’re doing in a genuine film, but, hey, enjoy. This is what actors do. I know you have your heart set on another 5.1 from imbd, but this film has some genuine substance to it.
The problem with The Card Counter (other than the title) is that it’s hard to back either rooting interest. Cirk is a mess, a boy badly in need of guidance in the form of an education, the military, a father figure, direction, a stylist, a wardrobe, anything … or anything other than his current desire for vengeance. His life ends badly if he lives it on his own and we all know it, but that’s not enough to rally behind. There’s plenty of people bound to live terrible lives from The Proud Boys to the cast of “Jackass;” do we naturally sympathize with any of them? William Tell is a different story; he knows his soul was damned by his actions in Abu Ghraib, but perhaps his guidance is his redemption. The thing is that Oscar Isaac plays this role as the consummate poker player, never revealing anything inside or outside of the game. William Tell has taught himself to walk through life without attachments or distractions. Personally, he has no ambition, no desire, no goal, hence emotion is never a factor in his life. I’d say it takes until the one-hour-twenty-minute mark to discover he actually has emotions other than a muted and prolonged state of regret.
The Card Counter is a decent watch, but I can’t really recommend it on any individual score. The film only has three or four plot points and there’s a full hour between #2 and #3. So you might enjoy it for the poker, except the film makes it very clear that it isn’t about poker. For a film set entirely in casinos, you’ll get more love of cards from your average Bond film. Unless you can really get behind a guy who deliberately lives his life for the thrill of nothing, I cannot see great love for The Card Counter.
Meet The Card Counter’s acquired kid geek
There’s not much for a curiosity to pique
Cards ain’t his fashion
But he seems to have passion
For the avant-garde nouveau white trash chic
Rated R, 111 Minutes
Director: Paul Schrader
Writer: Paul Schrader
Genre: Movies to gamble by
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: The eternally damned
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Plot junkies
