R | 1h 41m | Drama, Mystery, Thriller | 2025
“Ballad of a Small Player,” a mostly brilliant examination of the many downsides of compulsive and addictive gambling, resembles at various points “Rounders,” “21,” “Molly’s Game,” “Casino,” “Uncut Gems,” multiple James Bond flicks, and “The Sopranos” episode “The Happy Wanderer.”
“Ballad” is the second English-language feature from Swiss-Austrian director Edward Berger (“All Quiet on the Western Front,” “Conclave”), and there is no denying the scope of his vision here. The movie is awash in style and is brimming with an ever-escalating air of dread and the type of resignation felt by gamblers getting in way over their heads.
Lord Doyle
Colin Farrell stars as the English “Lord Doyle,” the alias of an Irishman named Brendan Reilly, who passes himself off as royalty in Macau, China, the most densely populated city on the planet. The Eastern Hemisphere version of Las Vegas on crack, Macau is akin to its Western counterpart inasmuch as it attracts high-stakes players with deep pockets (real or imagined).
The movie opens with Reilly at the tail end of a long losing streak. His card game of choice is “Punto Banco,” a variation of Baccarat. He’s $45,000 in debt to Chinese gaming creditors and owes nearly $1.3 million to an elderly British woman he conned.
Cynthia Blithe (Tilda Swinton) is a collection agent representing the British woman and the many casinos in Macau that have banned him from even entering their establishments. He has less than 72 hours to pay his debts before authorities will arrest and deport him.
The Shylock
Reilly’s lone sliver of hope is his recent tenuous semi-bonding to the mysterious Dao Ming (Fala Chen), an employee of a casino who offers house credit to cash-depleted, high-roller players at exorbitant rates. It’s clear that she hates her job and considers all gamblers to be low-life types. But it pays her bills, which allows her to barely put up with it.
After the death of another gambler with similar financial circumstances as Reilly, Dao Ming finally throws in the towel. What she has done is no different than the type of usury practiced by organized crime the world over. She wishes to save what’s left of her soul.
At this point, the screenplay by Rowan Joffe, which is based on the novel by Lawrence Osborne, drifts into something that could be a fever dream or an alternate reality.
Saving Grace
Dao Ming goes from being completely uncooperative to becoming Reilly’s literal and figurative lifeline. The setting temporarily shifts from Macau to the placid and low-key Lamma Island section of Hong Kong. Reilly recovers from what appears to be an anxiety-triggered heart attack, and Dao Ming is repositioned as his saving grace.
It should be made quite clear here: “Ballad” isn’t for everyone, or anyone looking for a story providing definitive, clear-cut closure. None of the various plot threads are tied up with neatly knotted bows. Everything is left to interpretation and conjecture. Personally, I like this type of storytelling, although I’m aware that many people don’t.
What is clear is the opinion of the filmmakers that long-term gambling forever rots the soul. The number of people who beat the house is very low. It’s an addiction as lethal and destructive as drugs or alcohol.
The Charming Bad Boy
In a career spanning three decades, Farrell has played more than his share of unsavory characters, who weren’t necessarily antagonists or bad guys. The best example of this is “In Bruges” (2008), where Farrell played a professional assassin who was unintentionally involved in the death of a child.
Another was “The Beguiled” (2017), the remake of the 1971 Clint Eastwood movie. He played a Civil War Union soldier who becomes the object of affection of Confederate-affiliated women and girls at a private school in the Deep South.
The point here is that Farrell has that rare ability to play a “bad boy” and does so with an effortless level of mysterious charm that can’t be taught or learned. This perfectly describes Reilly. As with “In Bruges” and “The Beguiled,” his character here gets away with everything, until he doesn’t. He ultimately has to account for his past deeds.
The biggest takeaway from “Ballad” is Reilly’s long-in-coming grasp and mastery of his addiction and, at least in his own mind, the perceived conquering of it. It comes at a huge cost on multiple levels, but he finally quashes his demons.
The film is now streaming on Netflix.
‘Ballad of a Small Player’
Director: Edward Berger
Starring: Colin Farrell, Tilda Swinton, Fala Chen, Deanie Ip
MPAA Rating: R
Running Time: 1 hour, 42 minutes
Release Date: Oct. 29, 2025
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
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