REVIEW: Edward Berger Gambles It All Away With His Underdeveloped 'Ballad of a Small Player'
- Christopher Mills
- Oct 29
- 3 min read
Within this decade, Edward Berger had made a name for himself by releasing the critically acclaimed All Quiet on the Western Front and Conclave, which were both award-winning films, with the latter recently winning for Best Adapted Screenplay. With Berger's latest second partnership with Netflix, Ballad of a Small Player doesn't seem like it'll be able to compare to his previous two films, as it struggles with its script and where it wants to take its characters.
Ballad of a Small Player follows Lord Doyle (Colin Farrell), a man hiding in Macau, spending every minute of his life at casinos and drinking his life away. He's down on his luck but believes that it'll all soon change for him. As Doyle finally begins to think he's found an out when he comes across Dao Ming (Fala Chen), his past begins to catch up with him as private investigator Cynthia Blithe (Tilda Swinton) is on his case.
The opening shots of the movie highlight the beauty of Macau through its neon lighting while shadowing against Lord Doyle, a man who's not as bright as the city he's trying to scam through gambling. Everything is laid out straight for you with Doyle's situation, and Colin Farrell, who has been on an absolutely unbelievable streak, is the perfect casting for him with his charming charisma that he uses to get out of his life-and-death situations, but Rowan Joffé's script never allows for any actual depth with Doyle or any of the other characters that are introduced.
Both Berger and cinematographer James Friend collaborate to deliver an anxiety-inducing experience, but as you begin to reach the latter half of the movie, it begins to click that all Ballad of a Small Player is, underneath all its pretty visuals, is a movie that's all style and no substance. The score by Volker Bertelmann while addictive is overbearing and feels like a distraction from the rest of the movie. All of this combined can make for a decent experience in the cinemas, and thankfully, due to its limited release, some people got to watch the movie that way, but Netflix's touch feels like it's all over it. What might make Ballad of a Small Player worth a watch is how Macau is viewed, becoming one of the most important characters in the entire film.
A major turn-off with movies is when a female character is introduced and doesn't serve any purpose for herself but to serve the male character for the simple purpose of allowing the movie to progress forward. Dao Ming becomes guilty of this, and it's unfortunate, as she's a character who arguably has a more interesting story to tell. She's a casino employee who takes out credit for gamblers who'd never be able to afford it, leading people to the point of taking their own lives. It's a mentally draining toll that affects her, but the movie never truly delves into this and instead focuses on her relationship with Doyle that doesn't ever feel believable and lacks the screentime for the chemistry to radiate off the screen.
Tilda Swinton also feels merely wasted as she plays a character that's written to be two-dimensional, not offering much to deliver in the film. It's quite an embarrassment to say that her best scene comes in the form of a post-credit scene which you won't want to miss if you've already watched the entire 102-minute run of Ballad of a Small Player.
Ballad of a Small Player is a movie that's just all over the place and slowly reaches an ending that's predictable and unworthy. If you had to bet any money on whether this would be a film worth watching because you've enjoyed Berger's previous pieces of work, I'd save your money. The visual style of Ballad of a Small Player is absolutely beautiful, highlighting the wonders and structures of Macau with a score that's alluring and a performance from Farrel that showcases why he's one of the best actors of our generation, but Berger's direction and Joffé's script are unfortunately not enough to continue the streak of outstanding films that Berger has been producing.
Rating: ★★1/2
About Ballad of a Small Player
Premiere Date: October 17, 2025 and October 29, 2025 on Netflix
Director: Edward Berger
Producers: Edward Berger, Mike Goodridge, Matthew James Wilkinson
Writer: Rowan Joffé
Production: Good Chaos, Nine Hours, Stigma Films
Distribution: Netflix
Cast: Colin Farrell, Fala Chen, Tilda Swinton, Deanie Ip, Alex Jennings
Synopsis: A high-stakes gambler decides to lay low in Macau after his past and debts catch up with him. Along the way he encounters a kindred spirit who might just hold the key to his salvation.
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