El contador de cartas

I thought this film was going to be about a blackjack player, but I was pleasantly surprised that it was more of a Texas Hold'em experience. The film was directed by the talented Paul Schrader and stars Oscar Issac as the gambler. It also features Willem Dafoe in a cameo. The Dafoe character is very shallow, and we have no idea about how he became the person he was. However, the character exploration of William is much better. Two other characters are also featured; Tiffany Hadish as La Linda, the romantic interest for William, and. Tye Sheridan as Cirk (as in jerk). Too much Abu Gharib torture crap and not enough pyscho-poker. At times, vaguely reminiscent of Taxi Driver due to the driven personalities of the similar protagonists, but Taxi Driver far more effective. A decent take on the miserable, lonely, depressing, and meaningless existence of gamblers, and how casinos are not exciting and fun places to be; they are quite the opposite. Family is far more important.