From the director of Conclave comes… the exact opposite of Conclave! Conclave is about a bunch of celibate priests hanging out in opulent rooms picking a Pope and backstabbing one another. Edward Berger has done a total 180 here. Ballad of a Small Player is about one single man drinking and gambling and eating his way through (mostly opulent) rooms in Macau, staving off The Law just long enough to get that One Big Score that fuels every problem gambler. Berger can do it all baby!
In another timeline, 2025 begins with Kamala Harris sworn in and Colin Farrell starting his inevitable Oscar winning campaign after winning every other award on Earth last year for The Penguin. The only reason he won’t be in the conversation is because this is a Netflix movie and it’s a slight step down from the triumph of Conclave.
But let’s be clear: a step down from Conclave is still a very good movie!
Small Player lacks the thrilling highs of Conclave, but that’s hard to reproduce because Conclave has a murderers row of acting talent to play with.
Small Player is very much a one man show. Colin Farrell, who despite being famous seemingly forever is still not yet 50, just keeps getting better. He is sensational in this. His performance is one part In Bruges mental breakdown, one party The Lobster somberness, one part Dennis Quaid eating in The Substance. He sweats, he swaggers, he gambles, he lies, cheats, steals, switches accents mid sentence. He’s a desperate man at the end of his pitiful rope! A true movie star at the peak of his powers just swinging for the fences. One of my absolute GOATS!
Despite not having the roster of actors to play with, Farrell still has Tilda Swinton being her Tilda Swintonest to play off of. And Berger still gives Colin the lush, hyper saturated locations to play around in. Macau looks absolutely stunning in vibrant technicolor. You feel the luxury in every bright red fiber, every stark white hotel suite, in the gleam of the metal silverware and the supple sweat on the champagne bottles. It’s a tragedy Farrell won’t get an Oscar nomination but hopefully they throw some technical nominations this movie’s way. Nobody is doing it the way Berger is doing it. He’s a true craftsman.
Anyway, I liked this more than most it seems! It’s an easy watch. Not quite as fun as Conclave, but not as stressful as Uncut Gems either!
From the director of Conclave comes… the exact opposite of Conclave! Conclave is about a bunch of celibate priests hanging out in opulent rooms picking a Pope and backstabbing one another. Edward Berger has done a total 180 here. Ballad of a Small Player is about one single man drinking and gambling and eating his way through (mostly opulent) rooms in Macau, staving off The Law just long enough to get that One Big Score that fuels every problem gambler. Berger can do it all baby!
In another timeline, 2025 begins with Kamala Harris sworn in and Colin Farrell starting his inevitable Oscar winning campaign after winning every other award on Earth last year for The Penguin. The only reason he won’t be in the conversation is because this is a Netflix movie and it’s a slight step down from the triumph of Conclave.
But let’s be clear: a step down from Conclave is still a very good movie!
Small Player lacks the thrilling highs of Conclave, but that’s hard to reproduce because Conclave has a murderers row of acting talent to play with.
Small Player is very much a one man show. Colin Farrell, who despite being famous seemingly forever is still not yet 50, just keeps getting better. He is sensational in this. His performance is one part In Bruges mental breakdown, one party The Lobster somberness, one part Dennis Quaid eating in The Substance. He sweats, he swaggers, he gambles, he lies, cheats, steals, switches accents mid sentence. He’s a desperate man at the end of his pitiful rope! A true movie star at the peak of his powers just swinging for the fences. One of my absolute GOATS!
Despite not having the roster of actors to play with, Farrell still has Tilda Swinton being her Tilda Swintonest to play off of. And Berger still gives Colin the lush, hyper saturated locations to play around in. Macau looks absolutely stunning in vibrant technicolor. You feel the luxury in every bright red fiber, every stark white hotel suite, in the gleam of the metal silverware and the supple sweat on the champagne bottles. It’s a tragedy Farrell won’t get an Oscar nomination but hopefully they throw some technical nominations this movie’s way. Nobody is doing it the way Berger is doing it. He’s a true craftsman.
Anyway, I liked this more than most it seems! It’s an easy watch. Not quite as fun as Conclave, but not as stressful as Uncut Gems either!
