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About the final scene in “The Card Counter”

So i watched the movie last night and came up with a little idea while I was trying to sleep. I recorded a voice note because I was afraid of losing my thoughts in the morning xd.

Ok, in the movie William ends up back in prison because he killed Gordo (his former commander) as a sort of revenge for Cirk (who functioned as an attempt of redemption for his violent past). William tried to set him on a good path free of debt. He wanted to give him a fresh start, a chance of a new life where he could fix his relationship with his mother and be someone in the world. Not just an abused kid.

William didn’t want Cirk to succumb to revenge and the horrors that humans are capable of if given the chance.

William used the road trips from casino to casino as a "controlled environment" that could help Cirk have time to think through his plan thoroughly and realize the consequences of pushing beyond the point of no return.

But in the end William fails, Cirk already made his decision and got killed so now he has to take matters into his own hands. Cirk was the push that prompted William to act on his own desire for revenge (a desire that after 10 years of pondering he chose to set aside, but ended up carrying out).

William turns himself in and returns with the same speech that opens the film. We see him reading a book quietly, immersed in the routine of this (now eternal) Purgatory. Just at that moment the guard arrives with unexpected news.

William for the first time has a visitor.

He leads the way, waits patiently for the gate to open and also stays in the designated place until the guard opens the door. Perhaps confusion and curiosity mix in his mind, but also some tension for the unexpected.

Who could be on the other side?

The tension can be noticed as soon as he enters the scene. His eyes go straight to the other side of the glass, William recognizes in a matter of seconds the person in the other side that has not yet appeared on the screen.

His expression remains tense and attentive, as if reading his opponent, trying to decipher them and predict the next move.

William then exhales and lets his body relax a little

When it is revealed that La Linda is the one visiting him, there is a gentle shift in William, as if somehow, after seeing no threat, he decides to open up and relax his posture a bit. His shoulders drop as he exhales and just keeps looking into her eyes with a slight tilt in his head.

He lays himself in front of her to be judged.

He waits...

In this scene there is no dialogue, but personally I think in this part William is saying: "Here i am. Now you know me. A part of the real me."

This is relevant if we remember some of their interactions.

Linda was looking to connect somehow with him, to know William's story, but he always answered: "I only play poker" establishing a boundary between his past and this new life in penance.

William always kept his distance. And Linda instead opened the path to form another connection. She told him her own life story, how things were before everything and how she got to where she is now. She recalled some hardships and also good memories.

“It doesn’t matter to me if you did something bad in your past“.- She said in the garden full of lights.

This sentence is challenged at this moment.

It is here where William is forced to show what he is capable of doing: Torture and kill a man in the most brutal way. La Linda may never know about his years as an interrogator, his victims, his photos, his cruelty. But she does know about this homicide and she must decide what to do next.

Linda has a calm expression, not the usual flashy attitude (obviously it is a different context), but she looks calm, she is also analyzing the situation. In her mind she is trying to understand William's motivations.

She didn't know about his past, she only catched him 4 times in different casinos. She knew he was a gambler with exceptional capabilities that restrained himself and chose to win just enough to get by. He disliked bringing attention to himself. He was a mystery.

He was someone that, after meeting a boy in trouble, chose to change his strategy and help him. Getting into a business with her that he knew could tie him down and plunge him into debt, but he still decided to go through with it, just for the kids sake.

If she researched what happened and paid attention to the news, she could have made the connection between Cirk and Gordon's deaths and understand this desire for revenge of William's side.

For Linda all of it could be summed up that way. It was revenge.

As she looks at this man on the other side of the glass.

In a totally different world.

But then...

He smiles at her as if to say:

" You're here....against all odds."

I can't help but remember one of the games William explains to Cirk in the diner, before revealing to the younger man his own memories as an interrogator and the tortures he subjected the prisoners to, this time with no images, just his voice recounting the horrors.

“ Now there’s only a card that gets Goldy out .Theres a 2% chance The River will call the 7 of diamonds. Alex has a 98% chances of winning.

He makes a sucking sound...And he goes all in.

Alex calls.

Now: The River.

7 of diamonds. Straight flush beats the full house. Goldy wins “

Against who was William playing? his past? his guilty conscience?.

All of these events were part of a big game, William decided to get involved to make 1 act that would make a difference, his chance for redemption.

While he will NEVER EVER be able to erase the damage done to others, this little aid to young Cirk will be a small gesture he can live with.

His victims and their families will never forgive him or any of those involved, for the harm they’ve done. There is nothing he can do to repay them, this redemption game only works for his own benefit, to quiet his mind and tell himself that despite everything he still has some humanity in him.

That he is still capable of making a gesture for the benefit of someone else.

But even when he lost and ended up in the exact same place, there is only one card left that can save him.

The change happens in a single second, Linda exhales and blinks only once before deciding to approach.

Now her gaze has become much warmer.

Linda makes a decision and reachs out to him.

A single finger

There is an interesting difference here: Linda has accessories but most of her hand is covered, representing the civilian world, the world of gambling and connections with thousands of people in contrast to William, who instead wears a uniform of sober colors and his hand is completely uncovered.

William is isolated from the world, carrying the weight of his decisions.

Perhaps he’s also a bit calmer now, since he has come to terms with his past, managing to destroy the one who was mainly responsible for 1) his descent into hell (i’m not condoning his actions, he willingly kept working and descending into brutality) and 2) The one who wiped out William’s chance of redeem himself.

The pose is also important: Linda's finger points upwards, a more direct and confident approach, the gesture of her hand reminiscent of someone pointing the way, the hand seems more closed-off.

Or pointing at William, recognizing him for the first time in depth and accepting him.

William's hand trembles and takes a little time to reach, the gesture of his hand reminds of someone trying to reach something after crawling for too long.

Perhaps recognizing in Linda a warm hope that will be a support for whatever is to come. William is trying to reach her

This support has a fragile foundation and William is not assured that it will last forever, but at least he is no longer alone.

It is not a open hand pressing against the glass, as we see in other montages of friends/couples/family visiting a loved one in jail.

The full palm indicates a high level of trust, a "we have nothing to hide" an "I understand you".

Here it is just a finger, it is a somewhat unsure attempt, it is the first step.

This is the first truth that unites them.

And so they remain

In silence

Connected

so you hollow yourself in the mercy of man

you just need something to find your way home

and a spire of dreams are the finest of things

you just need someone to carry you home (carry you home)

#the card counter #william tell #la linda #oscar isaac #tiffany haddish