A chance for redemption is the ultimate goal in Director Paul Schrader’s revenge thriller, The Card Counter.
Schrader’s film weaves the story of an ex-military interrogator turned gambler, who is haunted by the ghosts of his past decisions. When he is approached by a vulnerable and angry young man seeking revenge against a mutual enemy from their past, he sees a chance for salvation for them both, but risks a fall back into dark territory.
On September 12, after the DGA membership screening in New York, Schrader discussed the making of The Card Counter during a Q&A moderated by Director John Patrick Shanley (Doubt).
During the conversation, Schrader revealed how his economical shooting style leads to more creative freedom.
“I get the freedom to have final cut by being very lean. There's nothing in this film on the cutting room floor. Everything I shot is up there. This was shot in 20 days. First Reformed was shot in 20 days. The next one will be shot in 20 days. In order to do that, you have to you know everything you're going to do within leaving room to be spontaneous in the moment. It's a way I could get a freedom that I couldn’t get earlier. I need it now because the industry has changed. When I began, I didn't have final cut but that didn’t matter because you were dealing with people who watch movies, who like movies, who came from movie tradition. Sometimes the movie got better, sometimes it got worse. But now we have a whole generation of film financiers that don't even care much for movies. I started realizing that you have to have final cut. Then I started realizing that you can have final cut if you work really close to the vest.”
Schrader’s other directorial credits include the feature films First Reformed, Dark, Dog Eat Dog, The Canyons, Auto Focus, Affliction, The Comfort of Strangers, Patty Hearst, Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, Cat People, American Gigolo, Hardcore, Blue Collar; the documentary feature Venice 70: Future Reloaded; and the movie for television Witch Hunt.
Schrader has been a DGA member since 1977.
You can listen to Schrader's Q&A by clicking the podcast episode embedded below. You can find more DGA podcast episodes here.