The Card Counter

Directed by Paul Schrader, The Card Counter follows Oscar Isaac’s mysterious William Tell as he disrupts his methodical routine by taking an aimless, angry young man (Tye Sheridan’s Cirk) under his wing. It’s a seemingly conventional setup that’s employed to engrossing and increasingly absorbing effect by Schrader, as the filmmaker, armed with his meticulous screenplay, delivers a deliberate yet predominantly enthralling character study that benefits substantially from Isaac’s captivating performance as the taciturn protagonist – with the actor’s electrifying efforts ensuring that the movie remains completely spellbinding even through its more lackadaisical stretches. (There’s little doubt, too, that Schrader elicits top-notch work from an eclectic periphery cast that includes Willem Dafoe and Tiffany Haddish.) The hypnotic atmosphere is undoubtedly heightened by Alexander Dynan’s moody cinematography and Robert Levon Been and Giancarlo Vulcano’s striking score, and it’s clear, as well, that Schrader does a superb job of peppering the narrative with startling, enthralling twists and a series of gripping sequences and set-pieces (eg a tense confrontation between William and Cirk). By the time the riveting climax and note-perfect final scene roll around, The Card Counter has cemented its place as a truly exceptional endeavor that ranks near the top, if not the top, of Schrader’s solid body of work.

**** out of ****