Redemption is the long game in Paul Schrader's The Card Counter. Told with Schrader's trademark cinematic intensity, the revenge thriller tells the story of William Tell (Oscar Isaac) who sets out to reform a young man seeking vengeance on a mutual enemy from their past.
Tell takes Cirk with him on the road, going from casino to casino until the likely trio set their sights on winning the World Series of poker in Las Vegas. But keeping Cirk on the straight-and-narrow proves impossible, dragging Tell back into the darkness of his past.
‘You'll be hard-pressed to find a more thrillingly necessary use of the filmmaking form this year.’ The Observer