Ballad of a Small Player Review — Colin Farrell Sinks Into a Haunting Portrait of Addiction

Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3/5)

Ballad of a Small Player

Directed by Edward Berger

Written by Rowan Joffe

Starring Colin Farrell, Fala Chen, Tilda Swinton

Release Date October 17th, 2025

A Story of Addiction That Hits Close to Home

Some people simply cannot help themselves. My father, for instance — a lifelong drinker, smoker, and gambler. He lost nearly everything because he couldn’t control his vices. I watched him perform a bright, smiling version of himself while quietly collapsing underneath it. When he won, he was warm and generous. When he lost, he vanished. If you don’t believe gambling is an addiction, I can tell you firsthand: it most certainly is, and it ruins lives.

Director Edward Berger’s Ballad of a Small Player understands this kind of self-destruction with uncomfortable accuracy. Colin Farrell’s “Lord Doyle,” real name Brendon Reilly, is a man whose brain has been rewired to crave the violent highs and lows of the baccarat tables in Macau — a final stop for gamblers running from everything, including themselves. He plays with “lucky gloves,” though we rarely see them bring him anything but grief.

A Man Running From His Past — Straight Into His Addiction

Lord Doyle is hiding in Macau after stealing a large sum from his London investment firm. He hopes the disguise of a high roller will become reality, but the truth is darker: he’s an addict chasing the next hit of borrowed adrenaline.

Tracking him down is credit investigator Cynthia Blithe (Tilda Swinton), a coldly efficient bureaucrat determined to collect what’s owed or have him arrested. Swinton can convey oceans with a single glance, and she hints at a sliver of pity for this wreck of a man — rumpled suit, grubby mustache, dead-tired eyes — as he literally gets chased out of his hotel for nonpayment.

A Desperate Alliance With Dao Ming

Out of options and deeper in debt, Doyle seeks help from Dao Ming (Fala Chen), a woman he once dismissed as a con artist. Now, her high-interest credit is the only path to more money — and more losses. She isn’t connected to a gang, as the film initially hints; instead, she carries her own secrets, including a dangerous attraction to hopeless cases. Few cases are as hopeless as Doyle.

A romance sparks between them, but Doyle cannot resist the pull of the table. When he quietly takes a few bills from Dao Ming, he also takes her last shred of belief that people can be redeemed if we trust hard enough. Is she naïve? Not really — she’s a gambler in her own right, pushing all her emotional chips in on a terrible bet: him.

A Stylish Film in Search of Stronger Emotion

There is a lot to admire in Ballad of a Small Player, but I left feeling unexpectedly empty. I relate deeply to its portrait of a doomed gambler — painfully so — yet the film has a hollowness at its center. The romance between Doyle and Dao Ming is rushed, then burdened with the entire emotional weight of the finale. It doesn’t have enough time to mean something before the story demands that it does.

Tilda Swinton is similarly underused. She gets one brief moment to shine, then the film sidelines her — a waste of one of the most fascinating screen presences alive.

Final Thoughts

Ballad of a Small Player is atmospheric, beautifully acted, and often gripping. Colin Farrell delivers one of his bleaker performances, and Berger’s direction is confident and stylish. But the emotional stakes never quite land. The film asks us to invest deeply in a relationship that hasn’t earned that level of importance, and by the time it reaches its final moments, the impact feels softer than it should.

It’s a strong mood piece with standout performances — but like its protagonist, it never fully cashes in on its potential.

Tags

Ballad of a Small Player, Colin Farrell, Tilda Swinton, Fala Chen, Edward Berger, Movie Review, 2025 Movies, Gambling Drama, Macau Films, Book Adaptations, Film Criticism, Addiction Stories, Modern Cinema