2021 · drama · crime
The Card Counter
Directed by Paul Schrader1h 52m2021
William Tell just wants to play cards. His spartan existence on the casino trail is shattered when he is approached by Cirk, a vulnerable and angry young man seeking help to execute his plan for revenge on a military colonel. Tell sees a chance at redemption through his relationship with Cirk.
Our read: The Card Counter (2021) reads as a heavy, measured, grounded drama · crime entry — measured in intensity, mid-stakes in scope, cold in temperature, nihilistic in outlook, with a strong directorial signature.
Heavy, measured, measured drama / crime, grounded in texture. Nihilistic, mid-stakes, cold.
- heavy
- measured
- intense
- bleak
- cold
Watching The Card Counter tonight? Spin for your lens.
Everyone on the couch spins once and gets one craft to watch for. After the credits, compare what you caught.
Your lens for tonight
?
Everyone on the couch gets one craft to watch for. Spin the wheel to get yours. Sound on: the narrator reads your mission.
Availability in the UK · via JustWatch
More info & search links
How The Card Counter feels to watch.
Each axis is scored by hand, not from votes or genre averages. The bar uses the film's own colours.
What watching it is actually like.
“You want austere Schrader guilt, poker rooms, and Abu Ghraib hauntings unpacked slowly.”
Skip it tonight — Skip if torture flashbacks and moral bleakness are too heavy before bed.
Eight films that feel like this one.
Closest in the twelve-axis space, not “people also liked”. All films like The Card Counter, with why →
Discussion
Make it a movie night.
Pick a mood, get a film the whole couch will enjoy, and give everyone something to watch for.
Pick tonight's film →