Ballad of a Small Player
Written by Cameron Geiser
Warning: This review is for Ballad of a Small Player, which is a film presented at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. There may be slight spoilers present. Reader discretion is advised.
Image courtesy of the Toronto International film Festival.
I can’t imagine a further cinematic distance from the halls and conference rooms of the Vatican to the streets and gambling tables of Macao, China. Yet that’s where Director Edward Berger has taken us in his follow up to Conclave with Ballad of a Small Player. This time around the focus is on Lord Doyle (Colin Farrell) who we meet in the middle of a consistent losing streak. He’s found fortune and infamy in the past and he lives a decadent and lavish lifestyle for the coin he’s been able to win but now his debtors have come to collect. As you can imagine, this puts the soft spoken Lord Doyle into a calmly controlled panic. With other similarly doomed clientele seen jumping from rooftops when they cannot pay, Doyle is well aware of his chances to avoid that fate and potentially worse ones! His path eventually crosses with that of the British financial fraud investigator simply named Blithe (Tilda Swinton), which causes his anxieties and frantic pace to quicken as he seeks a way out of his self made disaster.
Whereas Conclave was an ensemble piece about how the College of Cardinals chooses a new Pope through vigorous debate and discussion, Ballad of a Small Player favors a more intimate tale of a man bargaining with international police and Casino security, but truthfully his conflict is a far more internal one. Can he forge a way out of his predicament? Will he outwit his foes and financial doldrums, or will he succumb to that call to greatness, that pull to risk it all? Is it the allure of danger that fuels Lord Doyle? Or is it his purpose to scrounge for hidden money, cash in all favors, and lean on anyone that can be of service? Or can he be called upon to a higher purpose, to free himself and those he cares about by stepping away from Gambling, or by embracing his most anarchic urges? Ballad of a Small Player is invested in answering all of those questions with brassy aplomb and glorious neon lighting.
Just as with Conclave there is a distinct visual flair, this time however the cinematographer credit goes to James Friend (Stephane Fontaine had the honor of DP for Conclave). Which I have to say I was incredibly impressed with. Large portions of Ballad of a Small Player look and feel like a James Bond film, and that is no easy feat. Bright, bold, and flashy with saturated colors, it all serves the story through the lens of Lord Doyle’s character and his perspective. Drunk, ravenous, moving through momentum alone, and surviving on guilt and confidence in his abilities- Lord Doyle is often beset by panic attacks and sweaty, frenzied, consumption of high end gourmet food. Luckily for us the film is also brilliantly scored with a bombastic and brass filled score that carries the manic pace of this film quite well.
Colin Farrell turns in yet another chameleon-like performance as Lord Doyle, one where his celebrity falls away as his performance takes over and has us believing that he’s always been this gambling addict, roaming the floors of various Macao Casinos. Tilda Swinton’s Blithe has a lighter presence than you might imagine given she represents the interest of international law, but she makes the most of her time in the role. I also recommend watching into the credits as Blithe resurfaces for a highly entertaining coda to the film’s end. Ballad of a Small Player is a very finely crafted film that’s incredibly satisfying and likely an awards contender. Keep an eye out for this one come time for the Academy Awards. Colin Farrell may get nominated again, otherwise the obvious choice would be for James Friend’s work behind the camera.
Cameron Geiser is an avid consumer of films and books about filmmakers. He'll watch any film at least once, and can usually be spotted at the annual Traverse City Film Festival in Northern Michigan. He also writes about film over at www.spacecortezwrites.com.