William Tell (Oscar Isaac) learned to count cards while spending 10 years in prison for abusing prisoners in Iraq. As a free man, he grinds out a day-to-day existence playing casino blackjack. He tries to win modestly to stay under the radar. La Linda (Tiffany Haddish) tries to recruit him to play poker for her. He is approached by Cirk (Tye Sheridan) who wants revenge against John Gordo (Willem Dafoe), the private contractor who led the enhanced interrogation program.
Playing blackjack don't always make for great poker players. He should have become an expert poker player while playing in prison. That would be a more direct connection. I like a lot of this movie. I love the actors especially Oscar Isaac's performance. I like the odd little touches like wrapping the furniture. I like the theme of guilt, justice, and reparation. There's a lot to like in all these parts but as a whole, the movie lacks intensity. The intensity isn't in playing poker. I get the connection of detecting lies in both poker and interrogation. The fact is that non of the gambling has any stakes. The stakes are all in Gordo. The movie skips Cirk with Gordo. Tell with Gordo happens off-screen. All the intensity is stripped out of those scenes. In a way, I appreciate what Paul Schrader is trying to do by deglamorizing those scenes but he still kept the scenes in the Iraqi prison. It's not like he's avoiding the subject matter. In that way, the intensity is held down. This movie moves along this dangerous path but does it without looking over the edge.
Playing blackjack don't always make for great poker players. He should have become an expert poker player while playing in prison. That would be a more direct connection. I like a lot of this movie. I love the actors especially Oscar Isaac's performance. I like the odd little touches like wrapping the furniture. I like the theme of guilt, justice, and reparation. There's a lot to like in all these parts but as a whole, the movie lacks intensity. The intensity isn't in playing poker. I get the connection of detecting lies in both poker and interrogation. The fact is that non of the gambling has any stakes. The stakes are all in Gordo. The movie skips Cirk with Gordo. Tell with Gordo happens off-screen. All the intensity is stripped out of those scenes. In a way, I appreciate what Paul Schrader is trying to do by deglamorizing those scenes but he still kept the scenes in the Iraqi prison. It's not like he's avoiding the subject matter. In that way, the intensity is held down. This movie moves along this dangerous path but does it without looking over the edge.