Following the critical and commercial failure of A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, which broke his recent awards success, Colin Farrell has seemingly found redemption in a new Netflix thriller that is dominating the streaming charts. The past few years have been a period of critical acclaim for the actor, who has landed standout roles in films like The Banshees of Inisherin and the miniseries The Penguin. Now the actor’s newest movie is drawing millions of eyes and has become an instant streaming hit, despite being incredibly divisive.
Ballad of a Small Player, the latest from Conclave director Edward Berger starring Farrell as a gambler running from his past who becomes fascinated by an enigmatic woman, ranked No. 4 on the list of most popular movies streaming on Netflix for the week of October 27th-November 2nd. The film, an adaptation of Lawrence Osborne’s 2014 novel of the same name, logged 6.9 million views and 11.9 million hours viewed during that period to beat out other Top 10 rankers like The Perfect Neighbor, The Woman in Cabin 10, and The Twits. Those high streaming numbers weren’t quite enough to push the movie past KPop Demon Hunters, which has spent a total of 20 weeks on the streaming charts and still ranks No. 2 after A House of Dynamite.
As of November 5th, the movie remains the second-most-popular film streaming on Netflix with global audiences, only falling behind A House of Dynamite, per FlixPatrol. Interestingly, the movie doesn’t currently rank on the streaming chart in the U.S. after it last appeared on the chart at No. 9 on November 1st, suggesting international audiences are pressing play.
Ballad of a Small Player’s high ranking on the streaming charts isn’t a reflection of its overall reception. In fact, the movie is splitting critics and audiences and has rotten scores on Rotten Tomatoes. Although the film initially debuted with a 65% critic score, that number has since fallen to just 47%, and the movie’s audience rating isn’t much better at just 49%.
Critics and audiences alike have taken issue with what has been described as a disjointed and illogical story that falters in its second half and is difficult to follow. Collider‘s Ross Bonaime described the movie as “a hollow, empty experience,” and Lynn Venhaus of AWFJ.org said the film “is an underdeveloped and overproduced drama that drowns in its own pretentions.” While the film has been praised for its striking visual style, many feel that the film prioritizes style over substance, lacking any real character development or even a decent conclusion.
Some praise is being sung for the movie, though, particularly when it comes to Farrell’s performance. The actor perfectly portrays a man on the brink, capturing his character’s addiction and internal turmoil. The movie also features great neon-drenched visuals and atmosphere.
Whether or not Ballad of a Small Player will continue its run on the streaming charts remains to be seen. The movie faces some stiff competition on Netflix with the ongoing success of KPop Demon Hunters and A House of Dynamite, a fellow thriller that has now logged two weeks on the streaming charts.
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