The Card Player [2004] [DVD]

 

 

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The Card Player is undoubtedly a minor work within the Dario Argento cannon - closer in tone to something like The Cat O' Nine Tails than the more celebrated likes of Suspiria - and a low-key precursor to his subsequent work for television; notably, Do You Like Hitchcock? and his two instalments for the Masters of Horror serial, Jennifer and Pelts. Like The Cat O' Nine Tails, the story of The Card Player takes on the usual Argento conventions of classic suspense cinema and the Giallo thrillers that would inform much of the filmmaker's greatest works - in particular The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Tenebrea and Profondo Rosso - but gives it a more smooth, sophisticated and mainstream approach that seems to avoid (for the most part at least) the various quirks, characteristics and personal idiosyncrasies that the majority of Argento fans have come to expect.

The plot at first seems preposterous; a mysterious serial killer invites members of the Rome police force to indulge him in an online poker contest. If they win, his latest victim will go free. If they loose, she will be murdered live on webcam. As with his previous film Sleepless, the film attempts to update many of Argento's favourite genre tricks by juxtaposing the old, archaic conventions of the detective thriller against the modern, twenty-first century policing techniques. So, whereas Sleepless demonstrated the use of forensic evidence in tracking a brutal murderer (in relation to the tried and tested policing of retired detective Max Von Sydow), The Card Player looks ahead to the world of wire taps, computer surveillance and the general technological buzz of twenty-first century living.

Where the film falls flat for many fans is in the plotting and execution (pardon the pun). Although I greatly enjoyed the first three thirds of this film - plot-holes and character quirks AN' ALL - the final third of this film slips sadly into the realms of complete farce. In fact, if I were to watch this film in the company of friends and family, I'd no doubt cringe with embarrassment if anyone happened to look over and catch me actually enjoying this literal train-wreck of a supposedly grand finalé. Everything we hate about Argento can be found in this clumsy, ham-fisted, badly-written, badly acted dénouement, from the previously strong central character suddenly becoming the helpless victim, to the pointless motive of the seriel killer, to the continual ineptitude of the police force, and of course, our favourite, the horrible-dubbing and wilful over-acting of a character who, when lurking in the shadows, was the most terrifying force imaginable, now, out of the darkness and actually REALLY laughable (the same problem could also be found in Sleepless, to an extent).

It's such a shame too, since much of the film finds Argento breaking new ground. He's toned down the eccentricities that plagued films like Phenomena, Opera and The Stendhal Syndrome, and in doing so has stripped away much of the grandiose filming style he used to so effortlessly and vividly perform. It kind of works in the film's favour though, with this low-key thriller really benefiting from the natural lighting, unfussy composition and matter of fact paunchiness of the editing. He's also toned down the violence too, which is obviously going to be a bone of contention for many Argento fans, but again, I think he manages it within the context of this film.

Going against the grain of my fellow commentators, I will say that I really liked the performances of the two central characters, with Dario for once fining a couple with something actually approaching chemistry. Not to mention the fact that they're characters that we can actually root for and care about; which again, was down to the chemistry and integrity of the performances. As a result, the performances also helped to really enliven a number of the more elaborate set-pieces, in particular the late-night game of cat-and-mouse between Anna and her would-be assassin (which brings to mind the brilliant double-bluff sleight-of-hand found in films like The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Deep Red, Suspiria and Tenebrae) and a late night chase through the shadowy streets of old Rome which is really the Italian Hitchcock at his absolute best.

Like I said, the ending is terrible, but much of the film (for me) was quite enjoyable, and if you can pick it up for under a fiver then I'd say it's definitely worth it. True, it's a far cry from the genius of his Iconic early work, but at the same time, it's nowhere near as bad as recent follies like Trauma and the risible Phantom of the Opera, so if you're an Argento completist then you're gonn'a want it regardless of the negative reviews. If, however, you have some familiarity with Argento, but have found his recent work lacking, then you might want to give it a miss (or at least try before you buy). For me, I'd be tempted to stretch to four stars, as I enjoyed the film - and the DVD transfer is a good one - but I'm knocking the grade down for the terrible ending, which really spoils a lot of the fun.

Without revealing the killer's identity, Dario Argento's latest misfire actually climaxes with the villain chaining the heroine to a railway track where he forces her to play internet poker. Yep, as thrillers go this is a premise that needs to be seriously rethought.

The Card Player is another two steps back for Argento after showing signs of improvement in the flawed, very silly but nonetheless very stylish Sleepless. On one level it should be interesting that he has abandoned the gore and the stylistics for a much more subdued style, but in this case for subdued read disinterested hackwork. If you didn't know this was an Argento film, you could easily mistake it for any one of the hundreds of schlock killer thrillers you'll find on some basic cable channels at two in the morning. The plot is serviceable only as a framework for setpiece film-making - Stefania Rocca has to stop a serial killer from torturing and murdering women by playing for their lives in a series of internet poker games - but the trouble is that the guignol is nowhere near grand here, let alone grand enough, and Argento films it all with an astonishing lack of panache. The potentially spectacular death of one major character is handled with pedantic disinterest while the other killings are almost thrown away. Plot developments are all exactly as expected and all too easily predicted.

This wouldn't matter so much if the script were better constructed or the characters more interesting, but it's ticking boxes all the way. Heroine with a problem - cop whose father committed suicide over his poker debts: check. Hero with a problem - drunken Oirish cop exiled to the British embassy in Rome for killing a minor in a siege: check. Bit player who is so obviously suspicious it can't be him: check. Likable character whose death is supposed to be a big surprise but isn't: check. Etc, etc, etc. It's a tame, unimaginatively directed, not terribly well acted movie that plods along for two thirds of its running time before briefly threatening to pick up a head of steam but not quite managing it. Looking at it, you can't help feeling that the only reason Dario made it was because he was running behind on the alimony checks. It's watchable, but nothing more.

Not much in the way of extras, though it is advisabe to watch the featurettes AFTER seeing the feature as they reveal the killer's identity!

The latest offering from Italian shock maestro Dario Argento is probably his most mainstream effort in years. Normally famed for his imaginative and grizzly death sequences and excellent camera techniques, this lower key thriller looses much of the director's panache but still gels with the usual nasty ideas and women in peril themes. I found the plot about a serial killer who forces the local Police to play internet poker games in return for the lives of his kidnapped prey, thoroughly entertaining, even though I found many moments not making much sense at all. The idea was sound, but the execution, as you may have already read, is flawed, yet still hints at the director's past glories, and still has the power to disturb.

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3.0 out of 5 stars The Card Player
Excellent story but the acting did not match. It seemed as though it was from a sixties B rated film and very amateurish. It's OK if you are maybe bored one rainy afternoon

Published on 13 Sep 2005 by Mr. R. Tilbury

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing
This is basically a competent Euro-thriller and nothing more. Argento has ditched all of the retro-giallo manoevres of Sleepless (which seemed to date that film beyond belief),... Read more

Published on 29 April 2005 by Mr. Ben France

3.0 out of 5 stars Not Argento's best but not a bad film too
The Card Player (Il Cartaio) is an enjoyable thriller from master Dario Argento.
After the very good return to form that was Sleepless, this new thriller (I won't even call... Read more

Published on 30 May 2004 by Antoine Waked

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