Ballad of a Small Player came out on Netflix October 29 and this thing wore me out way more than it entertained me, Im not the type of guy who commonly stops movies but I was about to. Edward Berger went from directing Conclave to basically trying his best Baz Luhrmann impression and it does not land at all, like what was he thinking with this one. Colin Farrell plays this sweaty disaster of a gambler named Brendan Reilly who goes by the fake name Lord Doyle while he is hiding in Macau and he cannot stop betting even tho he sucks at it, you watch him loose over and over again and it starts feeling like you are stuck in this endless loop with him, its exhausting as hell to sit through and there is no end to it, this guy just cant catch a break. The movie visually looks so good like they really invested in the production, all those neon lights and wild camera angles make it feel super flashy but thats its, thats why on the title I use All Looks No Substance because the story is a complete mess, like a beautiful wrapping paper around an empty box. Tilda Swinton shows up as this private investigate tracking Doyle down and there is another woman named Dao Ming who is a credit broker at the casino and might be his only chance at getting out but none of these relationships feel real or developed enough to actually give a damn about what happens. The whole thing tries so hard to be this deep look at addiction but it just comes off as repetitive and confusing, I could not tell you what was real and what was in his head half the time and not in a cool way just in an annoying way that had me with the finger on the fast forward button. Farrell is great as always but even he cant save this from feeling like style over substance, by the end I was just tired of a repetitive story that was getting no where, watching him going into this addictive cycle spiral down for nearly two hours without any reward, Berger clearly has talent but he forgot to give us characters worth caring about or a story that goes somewhere meaningful.
- IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt32063098/
- Platform: NETFLIX
Rottentomatoes Rating
If you have seen the trailer its a very simple setup, Doyle is this disgraced Irish guy who embezzled millions and ran off to Macau where he pretends to be royalty, he walks around acting like some nobleman even tho everyone sees through his bullshit and its kinda pathetic to watch after a while. He gambles at baccarat tables and loses constantly but keeps going back because thats what addicts do, they never know how to stop, the movie wants you to think he is tortured and complex but really he just comes off as annoying after the first thirty minutes or so, witch makes the rest of the movie feel like a chore you have to sit through. When Dao Ming comes in during the Hungry Ghost Festival things get weird, shes this quiet mysterious credit broker who sees through his lies and tries to help him but the chemistry is very poor and their scenes fall completely flat on there face, you never understand why she cares about this loser or what she gets out of trying to save him witch becomes frustrating. Berger shoots everything with extreme closeups of sweat on Farrells face and long shots from behind peoples heads where everything else is blurry. The cinematography is technical impressive but that alone cant safe the movie, it looks very neat and clean but aint enough, there is no emotion just pretty visuals that dont serve the story at all and it becomes more obvious as things drag on. Every scene looks like it could be in some fancy art magazine but none of it connects to anything deeper, it is all surface beauty without heart underneath it, the gambling scenes should be tense but they drag on forever witch is the opposite of what you want, you watch Doyle bet and loose and bet again until it becomes this monotonous rhythm that puts you to sleep instead of keeping you interested in whats going to happen next. After taking money from Dao Mings shed Doyle goes on this stupidly and incredible winning streak before his final big bet but even that feels hollow and empty, its this hallelujah moment but just feels like the rest another fake moment, his character is very similar to Vince in the Black Rabbit who in fact had a similar gambling night and blow it up in a single final bet, when you watch that scene there was an adrenaline rush.
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Then there is this whole supernatural aspect of the movie where Dao Ming might be a ghost or she might be real or maybe both, the movie never commits to anything witch is frustrating because you spend the whole time trying to figure out whats going on instead of just experiencing the story and letting it happen like the movie is on cruise control. After Doyle has a heart attack he wakes up next to Dao Ming, he finds a big stash of her money hidden in the shed and goes gambling, winning like crazy at the tables. Suddenly his luck turns around completely and casino people whisper that a ghost is helping him win witch sounds cool but the execution is poor and it looses all impact. The movie wants to be this meditation on guilt and redemption but doesnt earn any of that, Doyle never does anything to make you root for him or care if he finds peace or whatever hes looking for in this damn casino, he is just self destructive without learning anything. The movie had some crazy editing cuts and loud music and colorful lights but none of it adds up to anything meaningful, its like watching someone show off technical skills without having a good story to tell witch is a waste of everyone time. The Hungry Ghost Festival stuff should add more to it both cultural and spiritual weight but it feels tacked on, like Berger thought it would look cool to have people burning offerings without actually integrating those beliefs into the story in a way that matters to anything happening on screen. Tilda Swintons character shows up periodically to remind Doyle that people back home want their money but also gave him a deadline to pay back embezzled funds or face deportation to stand trial, these scenes feel random and disconnected from everything else, she appears out of nowhere to then disappears until the script needs her again witch is lazy.
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Things get worst as the movie goes on and in fact close to the end its when things fall apart, Doyle steals Dao Mings money from her houseboat and uses it to gamble, he wins big and pays off his debts first but then he burns the rest of the cash in this symbolic gesture thats supposed to represent him letting go of addiction but it feels unearned because we never saw the journey that would make this moment land with any kind of impact or weight, you just cannot turn the table around from one minute to another. The movie tries to make this big statement about hungry ghosts and Buddhist mythology but barely scratches the surface of any of it, I mean the Festival of the Hungry Ghosts is all over the background but does that really give us enough depth to understand what Berger is trying to say about Doyle being one of those hungry ghosts, not really. You got Colin Farrell and Tilda Swintons characters dancing together during the credits in this awkward scene thats supposed to be about something but it feels random and out of place after everything else thats happened witch makes no sense at all, like why are Doyle and Blithe dancing when she spent the whole movie hunting him down. The score is actually pretty good, one of the few things that works but even that feels disconnected from whats happening on screen like it belongs in a different better version of this story that somebody forgot to make, witch is a shame. Nothing about the ending feels satisfying or earned, Doyle burns his remaining money and walks away and you are supposed to think he found peace but the movie never showed us the internal journey that would make that moment work or feel real, Berger wanted to make a redemption story without actually showing someone changing or growing or learning shit about themselves witch is the whole point. Farrells performance is the only thing holding this together and even thats not enough to save it, he commits fully to playing this broken mess of a man but the script does not give him enough to work with beyond just looking miserable and sweaty.
Look I wanted to like this so bad, Berger is talented and Farrell always brings it but Ballad of a Small Player is just exhausting to sit through and not in a good way that makes you think about it after. The movie is supposed to be this psychological thriller mixed with a ghost story and black comedy but ends up repetitive and hollow without landing any of those things right, Doyle is a disgraced Irish financier who stole money and ran to Macau where he drinks and gambles away everything while this investigator named Cynthia Blithe hunts him down, the problem is the movie never makes you care about any of it even though the setup is there. The ghost story part with Dao Ming is intentional because she actually drowned and is a hallucination but it still feels confusing and messy even knowing that, the pacing drags forever and by the time you get to the ending you are actually glad it ended. Maybe if the movie had focused more on making the characters interesting instead of just looking good this could have been something special worth talking about, this are many things to ask I think, this is one of those movies that just did not work for me at all. I would give it a 6 out of 10 because it looks beautiful and Farrell tries his best but everything else feels empty with no flavor, if your a fan of Bergers other work you might find something here but for me it was just a disappointment from start to finish that left me wishing I watched something else. Netflix has been putting out interesting stuff lately but this one I have no clue what happen with them, its the kind of movie that makes you appreciate when directors balance style with substance instead of choosing one over the other and forgetting what actually matters. I dont see a reason to watch this movie even if you are into gambling, I went into this movie thinking that it will be more interesting on the gambling side, so safe your time.
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