Ballad of a Small Player
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Amid the glittering casinos of Macau, a gambler running from his past—and his debts—becomes fascinated by an enigmatic woman at the baccarat table.
Amid the glittering casinos of Macau, a gambler running from his past—and his debts—becomes fascinated by an enigmatic woman at the baccarat table.
Edward Berger’s “Ballad of a Small Player” is one of the most over-directed films I’ve ever seen. And I’ve been playing this specific game for a long time. From its opening shots, it aggressively and pretentiously shows viewers all its cards, stubbornly unwilling to delve deeper than its attention-starved aesthetic, overcooked score, and characters who are constantly aware of who they are and what they need.This review was filed from the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11. It will be released on October 15, 2025, on Netflix on October 29.
“Ballad of a Small Player” is a heavily stylized film. From the jump, we’re hit with the burning neon of Macao as a sweaty, hungover Lord Doyle (Colin Farrell) wakes up in a hotel suite that looks like it’s been hit by a tornado.That’s the biggest problem with “Ballad of a Small Player” – there are no emotional stakes, and therefore no tension. Throughout the film, Berger plays with the idea of the unreliable narrator.
