Ballad of a Small Player
Mystery Thriller Crime Drama English
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.
| Cast: | Colin Farrell, Fala Chen, Tilda Swinton, Deanie Ip, Alex Jennings, Jason Tobin |
|---|---|
| Director: | Edward Berger |
| Editor: | Nick Emerson |
| Camera: | James Friend |
Guild Reviews
Visually dazzling film never quite hits the emotional jackpot
(Written for Scroll.in)
Edward Berger makes a dramatic and thematic shift from his previous movie Conclave with Ballad of a Small Player. Conclave was a taut, fictional feature about the secretive papal elections at the Vatican. Ballad of a Small Player, which is out on Netflix, is an occasionally tense, atmospheric and over-stylised character study set in Macau’s glittering gambling halls. Adapted by screenwriter Rowan Joffe from Lawrence Osborne’s 2014 novel, the film explores cycles of addiction and greed against a backdrop of ritual, superstition and neon decadence. Colin Farrell plays Lord Doyle, a British gambler with mounting debts and a troubled past.
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