Edward Berger keeps making movies that look and sound immaculate. His latest, 'Ballad of a Small Player,' is another slickly crafted ride: moody, stylish, and very easy to watch. But once the lights come up, you might find yourself asking the annoying question: cool movie... for what, exactly?
What it is
Based on Lawrence Osborne's novel, 'Ballad of a Small Player' tracks a gambler whose life is collapsing in real time. Creditors come calling, old messes resurface, and he spirals through casinos and hotel rooms trying to outpace the inevitable. It's a tight 100 minutes, and Berger (Conclave, All Quiet on the Western Front) shoots it like a fever dream set to a metronome.
The game that shouldn't be cinematic... kind of is
The most surprising thing here is how much juice Berger squeezes out of baccarat. For the uninitiated, baccarat is basically coin-flip gambling. It requires no real strategy and the odds are roughly 50/50 — the movie even nods to that. Most betting dramas lean on poker or blackjack because those games build tension by design. Making baccarat feel riveting is a flex, and the film pulls it off more often than not.
All sheen, not much soul
If you've seen Berger's recent work, you know the technical bar is high. Cinematographer James Friend shoots Macau like a glossy mirage — neon slick, rooms humid with panic — and Volker Bertelmann's score throbs and nags at your nerves in all the right ways. On a craft level, this is premium stuff.
But that same adrenaline and polish come with a trade-off. The film clearly does not want to glamorize addiction or chasing losses. Still, by staging so much of it as a sensory rush, it inadvertently makes the gambling feel... well, thrilling. The tone and the takeaway are a bit at odds.
When the dust settles, the movie mostly lands on a straightforward point: one man's desperation burns him and singes everyone nearby. The addiction angle is there, but it only gets a couple scenes to breathe. The story hints at deeper, messier ideas and then moves on before they can stick.
The cast trying to cash in
Colin Farrell anchors the whole thing with a performance that is impossible to swap out. He threads the needle between pathetic and magnetic — you want to shake him and protect him, sometimes in the same shot. It's big, showy acting, not a showcase for restraint, and he makes a meal of it.
The bench is strong but thinly used. Tilda Swinton drops in for a couple tasty moments, but the role plays like a lighter echo of what she did in David Fincher's 'The Killer.' Fala Chen flashes the kind of screen presence that makes you lean forward, then the movie keeps shunting her back into the orbit of the lead. It's that kind of supporting work: promising, underfed.
The takeaway at a glance
- Gorgeous on every front: James Friend's images and Volker Bertelmann's score do heavy lifting.
- Berger makes baccarat — a pure-chance, near 50/50 game — feel urgent and cinematic, which is not easy.
- The style sometimes undercuts the message; the high-gloss presentation makes risky behavior look exciting.
- The script's ideas about addiction and fallout feel undercooked; it stops short of anything truly fresh.
- Colin Farrell is the selling point. The supporting cast, including Tilda Swinton and Fala Chen, is capable but underused.
So, should you watch it?
Yeah, with expectations properly set. 'Ballad of a Small Player' is a sleek, propulsive watch led by a great Farrell turn. Just know you are signing up for immaculate surface and relatively thin substance. If that trade works for you, the movie delivers exactly what it promises — and maybe a little less than what it hints at.
'Ballad of a Small Player' opens in theaters on October 15 and hits Netflix on October 29.