Table of Contents
Hoping for a royal flush, Ballad of a Small Player has been dealt a pair of deuces.
Edward Berger's follow-up to Oscar darlings All Quiet on the Western Front and Conclave takes us to the neon-drenched streets of Macau, where a gambler, played by a very sweaty Colin Farrell, is on his last hand. With mounting debt and the threat of deportation, he has to find a way to win back his lucky streak.
The film is heavy on style, gleefully jumping into indulgance. Cinematographer James Friend does an exceptional job of capturing the indulgence and excess of Macau. The heavy, classical score by Composer Volker Bertelmann is another highlight. Both of these elements give an exciting flair, but their extravagance leaves everything else drowning.
The character of Lord Doyle (Farrell) finds himself trapped in this seedy world, sporting a fancy British accent, a myriad of velvet jackets, and leather gloves with some of the loudest sound mixing I've heard. Seriously, most of this movie is just leather squeaks. But behind this obviously fake name is a simple Irishman on the run after swindling an old woman in the U.K. On his tail is Cynthia Blithe (A bizarrely styled Tilda Swinton), who adds to his troubles by threatening him with jail time. On the other side of this dynamic is Dao Ming (Fala Chen), a casino hostess who can't help but be charmed by Doyle. Who, for his part, becomes desperately obsessed with her and proceeds to pass out a total of three times in her presence.
The script by Rowan Joffé is flimsy at best, with dramatic third-act reveals leaving the audience laughing instead of gasping. While Farrell's performance is highly committed, his intensity does little to build tension or stakes, with them being insisted upon to the audience instead of committing to the depth required of a character study. In one scene, Lord Doyle chows down on a truly exessive spread of expensive food. He does so because, well, he's greedy. It's a metaphor. Get it?
Despite the enthralling imagery that soaks up all the bright lights and pleasures of Macau, Ballad of a Small Player is a high-stakes gamble that doesn't pay off. Instead, making audiences fold before the final hand.
