"Ballad of a Small Player, an operatic adaptation of the Lawrence Osborne novel, is not quite him at his best it is far more bark than bite but it's made with such force and finesse and is so distinctively separate from his other films that I look forward to seeing what other non-sequel journeys he chooses to take us on in the future."
"He's headed straight from Rome to Macau, the Vegas of China, complete with fake skies, shoddier versions of global landmarks and a deck of gamblers whose shamelessly indulgent nights turn into existentially regretful days. One of them is Lord Doyle (Colin Farrell), a pretentious longtime guest of a hotel he's struggling to afford. His performed posh accent and fake Savile Row gloves mask a working-class Irish pretender, whose luck at the Baccarat table has started to fade."
Edward Berger delivered acclaimed, Oscar-winning work in All Quiet on the Western Front and Conclave. He dismissed speculation about directing Bond, a role that went to Denis Villeneuve, and he is developing a Bourne project. Ballad of a Small Player is a China-set gambling drama and operatic adaptation of the Lawrence Osborne novel that adds flashy bombast to his résumé. The film registers as more bark than bite but is executed with force and finesse and remains distinct from his other work. The narrative moves from Rome to Macau and centers on Colin Farrell's Lord Doyle, a pretentious hotel guest masking a working-class Irish past whose Baccarat luck and finances are failing; Tilda Swinton appears as a new guest who may know his true identity.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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