Il Cartaio (2004)
Genre: Thriller / Mystery
Duration: 103 minuten
Alternative titles: The Card Player / The Card Dealer
Country:
Italy
Directed by: Dario Argento
Stars: Liam Cunningham, Stefania Rocca and Claudio Santamaria
IMDb score:
4,9 (5.944)
Releasedate: 2 January 2004
Il Cartaio plot
"A serial killer with a vice for Video Poker"
Police officer Anna Mari is forced to play a dangerous game with a serial killer. If she loses the game, the battered victims will have their throats slit in front of a webcam. She teams up with British police officer John Brennan to find out the serial killer's true identity.
Actors and actresses
Anna Mari
John Brennan
Remo
Berardelli
Lucia Marini
Police Commissioner
Carlo Sturni
Francesca
C.I.D. Chief
Mario
Reviews & comments
Richard_Voorhees
-
- 2311 messages
- 2135 votes
The film has a strong start, but then weakens more and more.
The characters of Anna (Stefania Rocca) and John (Liam Cunningham) have little depth. They are very predictable, especially John's character who was sent all the way to Italy for a reason and is of course also a drunkard every now and then.
The killer is fairly creative, but the way he does it has been seen before in a slightly different guise in crime series/films. I think I remember a Baantjer episode/film in which the murderer worked in a similar way.
In addition, the online poker game is so cheesy that it distracts from the murderer and his actions. It never becomes nail-bitingly exciting and you rarely sympathize with the victims.
The ending is usually supposed to be the highlight of these types of films, but unfortunately I have to honestly say that this is not the case in this film. In fact, with the world's most annoying murderer ever, I must honestly admit that I think it is rather the low point of the film.
In my opinion Argento's weakest film I have seen so far.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Roger Thornhill
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- 6011 messages
- 2445 votes
Average serial-killer-with-a-separate-modus-operandi-thriller that is distinguished by some extra horrors (the explicit images of two autopsies), the surprise that the male protagonist does not make it to the end of the film[/ spoiler], and the famous name in the director's chair. And I personally am starting to understand less and less about his reputation.
Translated from Dutch · View original
jordandejong
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- 4772 messages
- 1431 votes
This is a bit of a shame, you really expect more from Argento.
The premise of a serial killer kidnapping women and leaving their fate to a live webcam poker game with the police is quite nice. But the weakness also lies directly in its effect. It is not at all interesting to watch some police officers talking English with an Italian accent in front of a computer screen all the time. Even worse, you can see what's happening on the other side (the killer's side) of the feed via just a small webcam screen. That's not exciting at all unfortunately.
A missed opportunity, because he proves on a number of occasions that Argento can make films. The most noteworthy scene where he proves this is the very strong 'ashtray scene'. A scene where a lot of tension is built up with lighting and camera work, which is what he is known for. Other startling scenes are the one with the boat and the one where Liam Cunningham dies.
Unfortunately, those scenes are too few and not enough else happens. The ending (with a poker game on a train track) verges on the idiotic, but is somehow entertaining. Soundtrack is otherwise okay. My Dutch DVD chooses to play the Suspiria track on the main menu.... special.
More special than this film in any case, which only rises above PURE mediocrity at thriller level in a few moments. Not even a drop of blood flows.
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