PFC William Tillich (Oscar Isaac) is a former military interrogator who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for participating in the torture of prisoners. However, he adjusted quite well to a life of confinement and its repeatable regimen. While in Leavenworth, he learned to count cards and got very good at it. Now that he is out and going by the name William Tell, he passes his time traveling and playing blackjack at various casinos, making just enough money to not garner any attention.
While visiting a Global Security Conference at a casino in Atlantic City, Bill sees a face from his past, Major John Gordo (Willem Dafoe), giving a speech. The former Major had taught him and others the art of enhanced interrogation at Abu Ghraib, but never had any charges brought against him—Bill and the other solders were the fall guys for the incident. Also attending the speech is Cirk Balfourt (Tye Sheridan), whose father was one of those other soldiers, and whose life was destroyed by Gordo. Now Cirk is plotting his revenge—he wants to capture, torture and kill Gordo, and offers Bill the opportunity to participate. Bill warns Cirk that thoughts like that will eat him up, and sees this as an opportunity to try to find redemption. In order to keep Cirk occupied on things other than his anger and vengeance, Bill asks him to join him on his gambling tour. Bill wants to help turn Cirk’s life around and get him back into college and make amends with his estranged mother, rather than having his life torn apart by feelings of anger and hate, like his was. So Bill accepts an offer from poker promoter La Linda (Tiffany Haddish) to join the World Series of Poker tour in order to build the nest egg he needs to help Cirk. But as Bill constantly wrestles the demons of his own past, Cirk continues to plot his revenge against Gordo.
The Card Counter primarily focuses on the inner struggle of William Tell. Here is a man who has definitely been affected by the things he saw and participated in when serving as an interrogator in military. Rather than living life, its more about just passing time for him. When he meets Cirk, at first the bad memories start flooding back, but he also sees the opportunity to have purpose in his life again. He could both repent for his own sins of the past, and also help this angry young man avoid making a horrible decision that would destroy his life and/or be something that would haunt him forever. Oscar Isaac provides a strong lead performance, really depicting the inner turmoil and struggle that Tell is going through. He also provides narration to the film, discussing some of the thoughts in Tell’s head, and explaining the various casino and poker games and odds to the audience. Haddish also shines in this non-comedic role as the woman who doesn’t know anything about Bill’s past, but sees a business opportunity with him (and maybe a little attraction). There are several things in the film that aren’t fully explained and left up to the viewer to figure out. For example, whenever Bill shows up at a new motel, he likes to remove all the artwork from the walls, and cover all the furniture in form-fitting white sheets, tied with string. It almost feels like Dexter creating his kill room, but here it is more likely that Bill is trying to get back to the stark nature of his prison cell. The film is also quite long, clocking in at nearly 2 hours, especially for one that is more focused on exploring a character and tone, and less on action or major plot developments. However, the second time I watched the movie, it felt like things didn’t drag as much.
Universal’s Blu-ray release provides solid picture and sound. Much of the film takes place inside motel rooms or on casino floors, but the picture is clean, with a nice level of detail. The audio track provides clear dialogue, and replicates the ambiance of the busy casino floors, and the stark silence of Bill’s motel room nicely. There is also an oddly hauting techno soundtrack that fills the room. The Blu-ray disc is packed in a standard HD keepcase placed inside a cardboard slipcover, along with an insert containing instructions on how to redeem an HD digital copy of the film as well as Universal Rewards points. The bonus material consists of a single 5-minute featurette.
What’s Included:
Film: (1:51:29)
- 1080p / Widescreen 1.66:1 Side Matted
- Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English DVS (Descriptive Video Service), Spanish DTS Digital Surround 5.1
- Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
- HD digital copy of the film, redeemable via Movies Anywhere or Vudu
- Universal All-Access Rewards Code (Offer may not be valid after 12/31/2025)
Code can be redeemed for points towards a free digital movie or other items in the Universal All-Access Rewards program. The selection of 5-6 free digital titles usually changes around the first of the month. - A High-Stakes World (5:13)
The cast and filmmakers discuss the character of William Tell, the actors’ performances, making the poker look authentic, leaving some things unexplained, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes photos, and interviews with writer/director Paul Schrader, poker consultant Joe Stapleton, and stars Oscar Isaac (“William Tell”) & Tiffany Haddish (“La Linda”).
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Blu-ray:
Digital (code may not be valid after 12/31/2022):
Extras:
Final Thoughts:
The Card Counter features a strong lead performance by Oscar Isaac as this man trying to reconcile the sins of his past while passing his time gambling in casinos. It is not the type of movie that will appeal to everyone, but it is definitely worth a look. Universal’s Blu-ray release looks and sounds great, but only includes a single 5-minute bonus featurette.
