‘Ballad of a Small Player’ Earns Muted Praise at Telluride — No Contender [Updated]

After his last two films earned best picture nominations, it looks like “Ballad of a Small Player” might have a harded time making it a triplet for Edward Berger.

The film has so far garnered a mixed response out of Telluride. It’s also barely been reviewed. What gives? Telluride is all about “Hamnet” at the moment. Regardless, Colin Farrell seems to be in contention for a best actor nomination. for his work here.

The mixed reviews come to us from THR, The Playlist, Variety, IndieWire, and Next Best Picture. Whereas, positive ink can be found courtesy of The Film Stage and The Wrap.

I’m a sucker for gambling movies (“The Gambler, “California Split”) so I’ll still be checking this one out in a few days’ time at TIFF. The trailer made it look like a highly stylized affair.

Based on Lawrence Osborne’s novel, Rowan Joffe adapted it into a screenplay. The film hits limited theaters on October 15, and that’s two weeks before its October 29 Netflix debut.

Here’s the synopsis:

The story follows a high-stakes gambler who decides to lay low in Macau after his past and debts catch up with him. Along the way he encounters a kindred spirit who might just hold the key to his salvation.

Sadly, Stéphane Fontaine, who did visual miracles on ‘Conclave,” isn’t lensing this one. Instead, Berger has tasked his Oscar-winning ‘Western Front’ DP James Friend for the job. As can be seen in the trailer, there will be lots of flashy shots in ‘Ballad’ — highly stylized filmmaking forthcoming, lots of vibrant colors and dark tones.

Berger is coming off last year’s “Conclave,” earned eight Oscar nominations, and won Best Adapted Screenplay. Both films were Best Picture nominated. His big breakout was the WWI epic “All Quiet on the Western Front” which earned nine Oscar noms, winning four categories, including Best International Film.

Joining Farrell in the cast are Tilda Swinton, Fala Chen, Deannie Yip, and Alex Jennings. Netflix recently confirmed a theatrical roll-out, ahead of streaming, dating the film for a limited two-week engagement on October 15.