Ballad of a Small Player – Film Review
Reviewed by Harris Dang on the 12th of October 2025
Netflix presents a film by Edward Berger
Screenplay by Rowan Joffé based on ‘The Ballad of a Small Player’ by Lawrence Osborne
Produced by Mike Goodridge, Edward Berger, and Mathew James Wilkinson
Starring Colin Farrell, Fala Chen, Deanie Ip, Alex Jennings, Tilda Swinton, and Anthony Wong
Cinematography James Friend
Edited by Nick Emerson
Music by Volker Bertelmann
Rating: MA15+
Running Time: 102 minutes
Release Date: the 30th of October 2025
Ballad of a Small Player is about Lord Doyle (Colin Farrell), an Irish conman who postures as having a high position of nobility while riding on a tidal wave of addiction and gambling what little financial resources he has left in the gambling centre of Macau.
As an insurmountable amount of debt rises due to numerous gambling losses and hotel payment dodges, Doyle serendipitously finds a potential source of salvation in Dao Ming (Fala Chen). She is a casino employee with insurmountable debts of her own.
Doyle and Dao Ming gradually become intimate through their similar interests and predicaments and agree to help each other escape their problems. Time starts running out though once Cynthia Blithe (Tilda Swinton) lands hot on Doyle’s trail and he realises the gambling high is about to go bust.
Player is the latest film from Edward Berger, the acclaimed Swiss-Austrian filmmaker best known for his remake of All Quiet on the Western Front (2022) and Conclave (2024). Both films received Oscar wins and nominations and Berger himself has become a Hollywood household name as he was in the running to direct the next Bourne film.
When comparing Conclave to All Quiet on the Western Front, Berger said it was like transitioning from a physical war to an intellectual one. Player feels like an organic move as the story is essentially about a war with oneself. Instead of the grand, austere storytelling he previously adopted, Berger opts for a pop-infused, operatic approach bordering on magical realism.
Player is Berger’s most visually and aurally extravagant film. Macau’s gambling hub alone is blistering with garish colours and lights. With help from Berger regulars, including cinematographer James Friend and editor Nick Emerson, he captures the hub’s enrapturing allure. The technique is incredibly immersive when conveying Doyle’s descent into addiction and detours into magical realism.
Composer Volker Bertelmann (on his second 2025 project after A House of Dynamite) delivers another rip-roaring, bombastic score. Unlike Dynamite, it accentuates the drama and fantasy by lending power to the narrative stakes. The fantasy element is given genuine cultural and historical context via the Hungry Ghost Festival where the living descendants pay respects to the deceased. Its link to the overall narrative supports the characterisations. Unfortunately, Berger and screenwriter Rowan Joffé cannot conclude the story in a completely satisfying fashion. Instead, the film succumbs to predictability, which considerably hinders its impact.
Fortunately, Farrell, in his second 2025 film after A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, leads the film all the way. While both films dwell into fantasy, Player has a more effective emotional through-line. Farrell is also given more to do as Lord Doyle compared to his milquetoast role in Journey.
Pathetic, flawed and undeniably human, Farrell avoids narcissism and is unafraid to dig into the role’s hypocrisies. His commitment to the physical and mental wringer leads to compellingly, emotionally raw moments. One of them involves Farrell gorging huge amounts of food as a means of suicide. While Farrell and the film never excuse Doyle’s actions, Farrell has an innate level of charisma that makes him engaging and worth accompanying on the journey.
As for the supporting cast, Chen exudes the perfect balance of mystery and sympathy as Dao Ming. Her chemistry with Farrell is believably intimate and in the later stages they share beautifully understated moments of vulnerability. Swinton brings her chameleonic talent in the nominal villain role of Cynthia and has a great payoff in her antagonism with Farrell in the end credits. It is a shame the rest of the cast has little to do.
Deanie Ip, who has not acted since her acclaimed role in Our Time Will Come (2017), most likely due to her support in the pro-democracy Hong Kong protests in 2019-2020, lends credibility and mirth to her role of Granny. Extra points are given for her untranslated Cantonese insults directed at Doyle.
Alex Jennings brings a compelling world-weariness alongside his hedonistic attitude as Doyle’s friend, Adrian. Similarly, legendary Hong Kong actor Anthony Wong (who also supported the protests) steals his one scene from Farrell as a composed casino manager who is afraid of what Doyle unknowingly possesses.
Overall, Ballad of a Small Player is an entertaining, operatic, and exhilaratingly stylish thrill ride from Edward Berger. It overcomes potential insubstantiality with cinematic panache, solid dramatic beats, and a fantastic turn by Colin Farrell. Recommended.
Summary: Ballad of a Small Player is an entertaining, operatic, and exhilaratingly stylish thrill ride from Edward Berger.
3.5
Engaging
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