Paul Schrader’s next feature starring Oscar Isaac, The Card Counter, has finally received a release date. Focus Features will be releasing the film in September, suggesting that they’re hoping for The Card Counter to pick up plenty of nominations during awards season. This is a smart move since Schrader is coming off his previous Oscar-nominated movie First Reformed, the critical darling starring Ethan Hawke.
As any fan of Schrader can tell you, his long and storied career is extremely diverse and varied. Isaac stars as William Tell, a gambler who wishes to play cards in peace, but gets sucked in by a plot for revenge by a young and vulnerable man. This could be Tell’s chance for redemption, unless his dark past threatens to catch up with him. Isaac is joined by a great supporting cast including Tiffany Haddish, Tye Sheridan, and Willem Dafoe.
In an exclusive interview with Collider, Sheridan discussed the atypical filming experience working with Shrader, but states that “the movie is about Oscar Isaac's character, and I think I'm just a piece of the story.” Sheridan will play Cirk, the young man who embroils Tell in his revenge plot, and probably serves as more of a story instigator and emotional trigger for Isaac’s character. Dafoe will play the military colonel, Major John Gordo, and Haddish will star as a character called La Linda, although it’s not clear what her role in this story is quite yet.
The film also reunites Schrader with frequent collaborator Martin Scorsese, who serves as executive producer. This marks the fifth collaboration between the two cinematic icons, who previously worked together on Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, The Last Temptation of Christ, and Bringing Out the Dead. He is apparently already working on his next film, a western called Nine Men from Now which he will also write and direct. We are certainly living in the Schraderssance.
Focus Features will release The Card Counter on September 10.