First Image: Oscar Isaac in Paul Schrader's ‘The Card Counter'

Earlier this decade, Paul Schrader had mentioned how he once considered Oscar Isaac for “First Reformed” but, in the end, Schrader thought the actor was ten years too young to take on the role of Father Toller. Instead, Ethan Hawke nabbed the role and it turned out to be one of his very best performances.

Regardless, It all seems to be water under the bridge as Schrader has found a way to cast Isaac in another movie. The play stars as William Tell in Schrader’s upcoming “The Card Counter.” We now have our “first look” at the film, courtesy of Schrader’s Facebook account, and I dig those frames on Isaac.

The official synopsis for the “The Card Counter”:

The film, written and directed by Schrader, follows William Tell (Isaac), a gambler and former serviceman who sets out to reform a young man seeking revenge on a mutual enemy from their past. 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. Gaining backing from mysterious gambling financier La Linda, 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.

A longtime contact and friend for Schrader’s sent me a message in Early March raving about the new project. “I was sent the screenplay for “The Card Counter,” he wrote in the message. Adding, “It’s one of his best. As good or better than “First Reformed” or “Light Sleeper.” It’s “Hard Eight” meets "Abu Ghraib with “Rolling Thunder” echoes.”

In early March, production had to be halted on “The Card Counter,” due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which led an angry Schrader to call his producers “pussies” on Facebook. There were just six days left to shoot on the film. Obviously, no return date has been set for the return of production.

HanWay Films has acquired international sales rights and will commence sales at the upcoming American Film Market. I presume A24, who distributed ‘Reformed,’ may be very interested in distributing “The Card Counter.”