Paul Schrader does not make films about happy-go-lucky lizards named Lenny who have to learn life lessons, though we would watch them if he did. Instead, his driving focus is fractured male psyches under intense pressure, and his latest, revenge thriller The Card Counter adds to that resume. Check out Oscar Isaac in the first trailer.
Isaac here plays William Tell, who after stints in the military (where something very bad went down) and prison has become an ace card counter. His spartan existence on the casino trail is shattered when he is approached by Cirk (Tye Sheridan), 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. Gaining backing from mysterious gambling financier La Linda (Tiffany Haddish), Tell takes Cirk with him on the road, going from casino to casino until the unlikely 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.
With Willem Dafoe (a Schrader regular) also in the cast for this one, The Card Counter will arrive in UK cinemas on 5 November.