Everything pointed to Edward Berger repeating the level of his two previous films: All Quiet on the Western Front (International Oscar, 2022) and Conclave (2024).
Ballad of a Small Player is a British production, although the plot unfolds in southern China, primarily in Macau and at one point in Hong Kong.
The opening, with its excessively strident music, introduces us to Lord Freddy Doyle (Colin Farrell), whose first word is a well-known insult beginning with “F.” Dressed in his green suit and leather gloves, his main passion is gambling, but despite his apparent noble title, he’s going through a rough patch.
He owes several days’ rent at the luxurious hotel where he’s staying and they’re threatening to kick him out. To make matters worse, the casinos in Macau have stopped giving him credit, and he’s being pursued by a Chinese gang to whom he owes money.
Adding to his troubles is Cynthia Blythe (Tilda Swinton), a private detective who threatens to have him deported to England. There’s a humorous scene where Doyle steals Cynthia’s purse in a bathroom, hides in a shop, but she catches him and gets her bag back.
Doyle travels to neighboring Hong Kong and there he meets a casino employee (actress Fala Chen), who puts him up in a small house by the sea. There he finds a moment of respite and discovers that the young woman doesn’t have a very clean record either, as she herself confesses.
The film veers into implausibility when Doyle discovers a large sum of money hidden in a cabin adjacent to the young woman’s house, who soon disappears from the scene, as does Blythe.
He then returns to the Macau casino, given that his only passion is playing baccarat, a game typically played by only two players. First, he plays against a Chinese woman, whom everyone considers a murderer, and he defeats her. His next opponent is none other than the Prince of Monte Carlo, whom he also overcomes.
The plot exhibits several inconsistencies, and the cinematography, one of the few redeeming features, is by James Friend, the same cinematographer who had already distinguished himself with his work on All Quiet on the Western Front. The shots of a famous annual Macau event, known as the “Festival of the Holy Ghosts,” are particularly good.
Colin Farrell successfully conveys the drama of a person unable to escape a dangerous addiction like gambling. The way he slowly reveals the two cards (a kind of “manipulation”) is convincing, with the camera subtly capturing the expression on his face depending on his fortune. Tilda Swinton’s brief appearance adds nothing to her career, unlike the Chinese actress Fala Chen, a name to watch.
(Germany, United Kingdom, 2025)
Director: Edward Berger. Screenplay: Rowan Joffe. Cast: Colin Farrell, Tilda Swinton, Alex Jennings. Producers: Edward Berger, Mike Goodridge, Matthew James Wilkinson. Running time: 101 minutes.
