Ballad of a Small Player centres around gambler Lord Doyle (Colin Farrell – A Big Bold Beautiful Journey), in Macau, the gambling centre of the universe, and he states that soon… his life as he knows it will be over.
What goes up must come down, and he’s flat broke whilst living in an uverexpensive hotel, with the owners giving him just 3 days to pay up the 352000 Hong Kong dollars (approx £35,000) he owes, otherwise the customer service he experiences is going to be somewhat less inviting going forward.
Amongst those he comes across is “Grandma” (Deanie Ip), an old hand of the casino, who spends her husbands money like it’s going out of fashion, but to which he’d be a fool to play against, given how she can afford to lose…
He’s also been refused any bunce by credit broker Dao Ming (Fala Chen – Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire), who’s getting too long in the tooth for the game, given how some gamblers taking losing too much to heart and make their final decision; he’s owed money by Adrian Lippett (Alex Jennings – Mr Bates vs The Post Office), and he’s been tracked down by investigator Cynthia Blithe (Tilda Swinton – Constantine), who’s after him for money he’d embezzled some time before.
Can he finally win big and put all his problems to bed, or is it time to cash in his chips?
Set around the time of the Hungry Ghost Festival, Ballad of a Small Player starts well, but won’t go down in history as the greatest film ever made, as it turns into a bit of a farce at times, ending up feeling uneven as a whole, but as is frequently the case, Colin Farrell is on absolute top form.
For whatever reason, director Edward Berger has seen fit to shoot this not quite in 2.39:1, but slightly less-wide at 2.20:1. Why?! If this had been shown in cinemas, chances are, the studio would’ve submitted it within a 1.85:1 container, so on 2.39:1 screens, it would sit there windowboxed, and looking like shit.
NOTE: There are NO mid- nor post-credits scenes.
Ballad of a Small Player is on Netflix from today, but isn’t yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD. However, once announced, it will appear on the New DVD Blu-ray 3D and 4K releases UK list.
Check out the trailer below:
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 102 minutes
Release date: October 29th 2025
Studio: Netflix
Aspect Ratio: 2.20:1
Score: 6/10
Director: Edward Berger
Producers: Edward Berger, Mike Goodridge, Teresa Moneo, Matthew James Wilkinson
Screenwriter: Rowan Joffe
Novel: Lawrence Osborne
Music: Volker Bertelmann
Cast:
Lord Doyle: Colin Farrell
Blithe: Tilda Swinton
Dao Ming: Fala Chen
Grandma: Deanie Ip
Adrian Lippett: Alex Jennings
Royale Casino Receptionist: Jessica Whitney Lai
Bellman Kai: Alan K Chang
Mr. Huang (Hotel Manager): Jason Tobin
Royale Casino Assistant Manager: Margaret Mun-Yee Cheung
Grandma Bodyguard: Suen Tsz Wai
Rainbow Casino Croupier: Selena Fong
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.