Spoilers

This had a very limited to no release in the UK, which i was very upset about as i avoided a lot of the trailers & information about it & then at the start of the year someone recommended it to me & i was like okay & ive only just got NOW TV film pack back (christmas treat for me) so it was high up my to watch list. Lets do this Oscar.

I thought this was going to be a heist film, so i was a bit weirded out but then presently surprised that it wasnt. I thought he was counting cards to steal something or as a distraction, but no turns out it was a distraction from himself & his life, which made a lot of sense.

I loved how it dealt with the PTSD trauma of going to war & torture & what was expected of you & how you just expected to get over it & the consequences because of your actions while doing that. He obeyed orders & it got him in jail & ruined his life. It gets dark when it has to but it really really does it well. Uncomfortable viewing but it has to be, to get the point across.

Oscar Isaac is bloody good in this. It had been a while since he had gone back to his modest little indi roots but this, this is back to his Ex Machina days. He was so stern but vulnerable & dealt with the mental health aspect so well. Despite his character being very shut off & not personal for most of the film, i really felt for him & not being able to connect to his character actually made you feel for him more. The relationships he forms through the film show this exactly.

I get the kids story i really do & Miles does a good job & telling it & his desperation, but after everything they go through he then just ignores his instructions & still goes to kill the guy who he sees as responsible for his familys struggles. Which i get thats fair enough, however it then hurts that he get killed. It also scarier that we dont see it. Much like when he actually kills him at the end of the film. Its a short struggle & i was like ahhh whos coming out of that room alive. I then thought we were going to have a big bit after that about how it just ruins people & what it does to peoples lives & how everyones a victim from those circumstances, but no he just went back into the system happy with his life in prison.

I also like the fact that he spent the entire film going dont stake me, i dont want to be know, i dont want this to happen & that the second he does & hes almost there, something happens that makes him abandon it all & go & trys to sort his & others lives out.

Are there really people that go to poker tournaments with that big an entourage? It was more than Tyson Fury has for a fight some of these guys. Bloody crazy.

Also we dont actually see that many card games happening in this film. For a film based on that you would expect a few more. & yes you see him so well & lose & some of his little ticks, but it is more about the person than th actual cards he counting & game hes playing.

There is a lot of exposition about life & mental health in this film, which does get very deep. But i think the slow pace does work & makes you feel that every decision this man makes really is calculated & to the point where it is the best option for him.

If you want a thought understanding about guilt & PTSD this is the film for you, if you dont then please watch it for Oscars performance. Its very heavy & uncomfortable , but if it makes one person realise they need help, then its worth a watch.