The direct line from ‘Taxi Driver’ to ‘The Card Counter’

In Paul Schrader's new film “The Card Counter,” which premiered last week at the Venice International Film Festival and opens in North America on Sept. 10, the writer-director goes back to a formula he's been perfecting for 45 years: The man in the room

VENICE, Italy -- Paul Schrader knows he has a limited number of films left, so whatever he does from here on out is going to be for himself. At 75 years old, the writer of “Taxi Driver” and “Raging Bull” and director of “American Gigolo” and “Mishima” was even somewhat prepared to call it a day after his 2018 film “First Reformed,” for which he got his first Oscar nomination. He didn’t want to. He just knew it might be the reality. “I thought I would go back to this character again for about the fifth time,” Schrader said in a recent interview. By “this character” he means “the man in the room.” It’s Travis Bickle. It’s John LeTour. It’s Julian Kay. And it’s a formula he’s been working with for 45 years. “You get the general problem you’re dealing with and a unique metaphor and line them up,” he said. “If sparks start to fly, then you’re in business.”