A Visually Stunning Film with a Predictable Climax

October 29, 2025

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German auteur Edward Berger follows his Oscar-nominated hit Conclave with another highly stylized adaptation of a troubled protagonist facing significant turmoil in Ballad of a Small Player. Colin Farrell leads the drama as a lying, cheating and profusely sweaty con-man on the run from gambling debts in neon-soaked Macau. His gaudy dress and arrogant demeanor fools no one as a precipitous decline leads to a desperate quest for redemption. Ballad of a Small Player gets top marks for Farrell’s intimate performance and the stunning cinematography, but falls short as a psychological thriller. An obvious narrative fails to capture the twists and fleshed-out secondary characters from Lawrence Osborne’s critically acclaimed 2014 novel.

Ballad of a Small Player begins with sweeping overhead shots of Macau’s glittering nighttime skyline dotted with hotels and casinos before the camera focuses on the window of a luxury suite. Lord Doyle (Farrell) is asleep in a drunken stupor as champagne bottles and room service trays litter the floor, signs of debauchery and excess. He crawls out of bed to shower, shaves his pencil mustache and dons a velvet-green suit only a peacock would wear. His preening comes to a halt with a loud knock. Doyle quietly hides as the bill slides under the locked room’s door.

Doyle’s efforts to slink away through the lobby don’t go unnoticed. Mr. Huang (Jason Tobin), the hotel’s manager, informs his lordship of the gargantuan sum owed. Doyle promises his banker in London will wire the outstanding money as soon as possible. It’s a weekend, but they’ll receive his payment promptly on the next business day. Huang warns that authorities will be notified if Doyle doesn’t pay or attempts to leave Macau.

His empty wallet doesn’t dissuade Doyle from taking a brisk walk in the rain to another casino. This losing streak can’t continue. Surely his vaunted baccarat skills will resurface, and all obligations will be cleared. Doyle doesn’t notice a strange woman (Tilda Swinton) following him as he begs for house credit to play against the feared Grandma (Deanie Ip), a ruthless card shark with deep pockets.

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Berger (Patrick Melrose, All Quiet on the Western Front) keeps Doyle front and center throughout the plot. Ballad of a Small Player is always seen from his perspective, with close-ups and vivid camera hues illustrating a frazzled deceiver. Doyle refuses to accept what’s readily apparent to the astute locals. This “gweilo,” or “ghost man”—Cantonese racial slang for whites—is a complete fraud. But Doyle boldly continues the charade in the never-ending false hope of the next big score. He’ll exploit every nook and cranny of benevolence to keep his ill-gotten dreams alive, but where does Doyle go when there’s no one else to beg for cash?

Fala Chen co-stars as Dao Ming, a casino hostess who secures credit for Macau’s purported high rollers. She knows all too well what happens when addicts hit their limit and pay the ultimate penalty. Dao Ming’s pity for Doyle’s “lost soul” fuels the existential journey he undertakes during this dangerous period. It’s a mystery as to why Dao Ming helps Doyle, but does he deserve any compassion? What does she see in a man who deals in larceny and treachery as his chosen path? Doyle is responsible for every foolish misstep and bungled machination. Can he be saved from his own worst instincts?

The answer is that Doyle remains likable and intriguing when the majority of his actions are unforgivable. Farrell doesn’t portray his duplicity as cold and cutthroat. Doyle is warm and earnest in a way that begrudgingly inspires fellowship. His pathetic desire to be feted as a wealthy aristocrat never fades as rivers of sweat drench his crumbling body. We watch Doyle physically deteriorate into shambles, his trembling hands gingerly lifting each card with fraught anxiety. Every game played is either another step toward his coffin or a potential reprieve. Farrell succeeds in giving a seemingly deplorable criminal a sense of heart.

Ballad of a Small Player Colin Farrell close-up

Unfortunately, Ballad of a Small Player fails to capitalize on Farrell’s performance, and there’s a lack of connective tissue between the various arcs. Doyle’s thorny predicament has an intricate backstory that unfurls slowly to a thud. It doesn’t mesh well with what’s supposed to be a bombshell climax. A key plot development telegraphed from the first act ends up not being impactful and doesn’t deliver a pivotal emotional punch. Doyle reaches a predictable conclusion that the audience easily deduces from the outset, but we have to wait the entire runtime for him to stumble precariously to that point. Doyle’s moment of clarity feels artificial instead of enlightening and regretful.

Viewers can appreciate the glitz and glamour of Macau juxtaposed with a seedy reality, but Doyle’s decadence rings hollow when followed by scenes of floating trash and cramped hovels. That’s clearly understood and an easy visual contrast that doesn’t replace necessary exposition. Ballad of a Small Player’s editing choices are the culprit in a curious style-over-substance calculation. Berger uncharacteristically avoids the depth that was the hallmark of his previous work. The result is a good-looking film that isn’t nearly as substantial as expected.

Ballad of a Small Player is currently in limited theatrical release ahead of its October 29 premiere on Netflix.