TIFF 2025: Ballad of a Small Player Review

This will be one of many reviews during this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, to keep up with our latest coverage, click here.

The latest film from Academy Award nominee Edward Berger, Ballad of a Small Player takes place in the neon-lit metropolis of Macau, China and stars Colin Farrell as Lord Doyle, a degenerate gambler and expat who found himself in far over his head and under the delusion that his bad luck will turn around and he could play himself out of his troubles. Living the high life as a high roller at a prestigious Macau casino, his addiction inevitably caught up to him as his troubled past caught up with him. With the walls closing in, Doyle continued to believe in himself and his ability, but this was no longer a game as the story became a matter of whether or not he could escape and possible start a new life.

Berger, responsible for such films as Conclave and All Quiet on the Western Front, two films that followed a very sturdy narrative structure, something that was missing here. While it is commendable whenever filmmakers employ a different approach with their filmography and try something new, the final product is a total disaster. Firstly, the film is barely coherent. Though it does feature some dazzling cinematography and a committed performance by Farrell, that is about all it has going for it. Structurally lacking, scenes go on forever and often don’t lead anywhere- becoming repetitive and indulgent. Leaning on its visuals sometimes in a gratuitous way, these various flairs add very little to the overall narrative and, for the most part, fail to resonate. On the other hand, its score comes off as too abrasive, ascending scenes that don’t need it and only gets worse from there, to the point that it becomes deafening. Sensory overload, if anything else, the film is headache-inducing, failing to justify itself with a conclusion that makes the maddening experience up to that point not worth it.

At the end of the day, Ballad of a Small Player is purely the definition of style over substance. Seeming satisfied with putting sound and color put on screen just for the sake of it, its neon green lit hallways may be cool to look at, but, above all else, a film needs more than pretty aesthetically to be engaging. Beyond those visuals, the plot doesn’t make much sense, its character motivations feel unearned, and its dialogue feels clunky. The actions of Colin Farrell’s Lord Doyle only serve to advance the plot- nothing feels justified. Cringeworthy at best, it is easily one of the biggest disappointments of this year’s festival. As far as Edward Berger is concerned, the film could be summed up as merely a swing and a miss.

still courtesy of Netflix

If you liked this, please read our other reviews here and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter or Instagram or like us on Facebook.

Brett Schutt

toyboxd.com/