Style over substance filmmaking has a wide array of effectiveness. Some style can completely make up for a films narrative or thematic shortcomings, while some substance simply can’t be fixed by making things look really good. “Ballad of a Small Player” is a bit of both but more the latter, a film bursting with style and colors and setting but sorely lacking everything else to justify its casino floors. You would think sweaty Colin Farrell as a down on his luck gambler in Macau directed by 2 for 2 Edward Berger is a sure fire premise for a hit – and for at least the first half hour it is – but quickly disintegrates into, well, nothing. This loosely adapted work from Lawrence Osborne’s novel of the same name with a ting of Edgar Allen Poe’s “Telltale Heart” seems to miss the more substantive beats to deliver some payoff with its seductive qualities.
It’s the first film from Berger that possesses all of his strengths but shows his blank check weaknesses. I’ve been super high on both his “All Quiet on the Western Front” remake and “Conclave,” which was one of my favorite films of last year. Naturally, I was excited and seated for “Ballad of a Small Player,” and even when I could feel it overpromising and under delivering I could feel myself wanting to will it into something it was not. That willpower proved futile in the end, as the film never really kicks into high gear or answers for itself, squandering its potential and existing as a proverbial stain on an otherwise spotless filmography. To be fair, that sounds harsher than I actually mean it, more weighing “Ballad of a Small Player” against previous excellence rather than on its own merits. In that regard it’s still less successful than hoped and advertised, but I’m not as down on it as some of my peers.
Farrell plays Lord Doyle, a self proclaimed high roller gambler hiding out in Macau on a terrible losing streak. His debts begin rising faster than his winnings, and amid his gluttonous buffet gorging and bottle drowning begins to lose complete control over everything he’s led people to believe that he is. It becomes apparent that he isn’t actually a lord, nor is he a good gambler or even a good person. Pursued by a private investigator and running out of casinos he’s allowed to enter, he finds a small lifeline in the mysterious Dao Ming, a casino employee who moonlights as a loan shark. As the walls begin closing in on Doyle, he must try for one more big score before time runs out and he loses everything. “Ballad of a Small Player” also stars Fala Chen, Deanie Ip, Alex Jennings, and Tilda Swinton.
The style is exquisite, the dazzling lights of a gambling city that never sleeps, the vibrant reds and strobes of high rise buildings juxtaposed against the dark struggling slums meeting in the middle of city parades and religious celebrations of ghosts. “Ballad of a Small Player” may not be able to say much about these things, but it sure as hell knows how to show you a good time. Farrell is constantly sweaty and committed, devouring everything put in front of him and doing his best to add nuance and complexity to a rather uninteresting and unlikeable character. Ghosts and superstitions play a larger role than expected in “Ballad of a Small Player,” and were those ideas expanded upon and given as much attention as it does to Farrell absolutely desecrating playing cards at every table, the film would probably function much better on the whole.
I didn’t know it was possible, but the film completely wastes Swinton, a character actor more than fit for a highly stylized film like this. She’s relegated to practically nothing, with “Ballad of a Small Player” using her shockingly sparingly and then somehow wants us to believe she was vital to the story and protagonist all along. All of the characters Doyle meets function this way, making any of the relationships he forms superfulous and largely meaningless despite the story demanding they have some kind of profound effect on Doyle. They’re so underdeveloped and inconsequential that when “Ballad of a Small Player” asks us to make the giant leap of purpose it feels nearly impossible and sucks the wind out of the sails of its climax.
And that’s kind of the problem with the film as a whole; once the ominous atmosphere and chaotic gambling framework and high strung bright lights fade, “Ballad of a Small Player” has no hand left to play. It is at best a fun time spent with Farrell who is really going for it, but at worst it’s peak Netflix fodder fit for a lost in the shuffle queue search and almost completely overcome by the Netflix sheen that once again rears its ugly head. Look, there’s nothing here worth remembering. No commentary on its own themes of addiction, superstition, redemption or even gambling and no real reason to exist. And despite that, there’s still some fun to be had in “Ballad of a Small Player” largely thanks to Farrell doing some heavy lifting and the undeniable visual flare from Berger.
He may not have anything to say this time around, but at least it looks good? “Ballad of a Small Player” is a film that should be a knockout on paper but ultimately fails to execute on any of it to rise to its potential.
I will say, watching Farrell binge eat room service downing champagne straight from the bottle until he vomits is all of us at an all inclusive resort, so at least “Ballad of a Small Player” has a little something for all of us.
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars
“Ballad of a Small Player” is in limited release Oct 15th and on Netflix Oct 29th. You can watch the trailer below.
