Film Review: BALLAD OF A SMALL PLAYER (2025): Edward Berger Creates a Unique World in a Film Led By Colin Farrell’s Remarkable Performance

Ballad of a Small Player Review

Ballad of a Small Player (2025) Film Review, a movie directed by Edward Berger, written by Rowan Joffe and Lawrence Osborne and starring Colin Farrell, Tilda Swinton,  Fala Chen, Alan K. Chang, Margaret Cheung, Jason Tobin, Deanie Ip and Alex Jennings.

Filmmaker Edward Berger follows up the Oscar-nominated Conclave with the stylish, ambitious and ambiguous Netflix drama, Ballad of a Small Player. Berger plays a winning hand here with the story of a gambler called Lord Doyle who is way over his head in debt when he befriends a woman who issues credit named Dao Ming (Fala Chen). Farrell’s character here is the stereotypical man who won’t quit when he’s lost and the actor embodies the role with solemn intensity that drives the characterization to the brink of reality and (in)sanity. This is not a perfect movie by any means, but it’s a fascinating one thanks in large part to the ambiguity that Farrell brings to his fascinating character in the film.

This picture sets itself in Macau for much of the film’s running time. As far as the plot is concerned, there’s a number that “Doyle” discovers on his hand that holds the secret to the key story line developments of the movie. Before we get to the secrets the film has up its sleeve, there is some quality chemistry between Farrell and Chen that drives the plot and keeps the viewer captivated. They talk intimately about their flaws in a unique scene that sheds light on the past that Doyle seems to be hiding at the outset underneath his facade. Dao Ming, early on, witnesses a client’s suicide which keeps her skeptical of what Doyle can do for her, but perhaps his companionship could salvage both of them financially and emotionally for a bit, if the plot would so allow.

Enter Cynthia Blithe (the always terrific Tilda Swinton), an investigator on the trail of Farrell’s character. If you look closely, you’ll see she’s following him and with good reason. Swinton doesn’t have to say much to make the character she plays here mean business. She’s the voice of reason whereas Farrell’s is symbolic of the quest to achieve an unachievable dream. Soon, Farrell’s character discovers what the number on his hand signifies and the plot thickens with incredible complexity and, at times, infuriating results.

Alex Jennings serves as Adrian Lippett, another wildly unpredictable man living on the edge who comes into the story line at given intervals to try to help Farrell’s character’s motivations make sense. Under Berger’s direction, though, there are a number of wild cards and Jokers that make the story of Lord Doyle so unpredictable that the audience may keep guessing what’s going on long after the last shot of the film where Farrell is surrounded by fireworks that could symbolize his personal victory or his demise in the real world. Either interpretation could be correct.

Farrell embodies a desperation here that manifests itself throughout the role. He manages to keep the intensity of the character within himself as he seeks his own answers regarding his unpredictable future. Fala Chen is absolutely stupendous as the woman who challenges him to find his better self and help her get out of her own personal dilemmas which have become quite overwhelming on their own. Chen and Farrell’s scenes together are a well-oiled machine with a very distinct purpose to the story line as Berger eventually reveals the secrets he’s been hiding during the film’s initial outset.

Berger is a visionary filmmaker and the movie is technically scrumptious. Casinos and those who inhabit them are displayed with literal and figurative meanings that go far beyond the obvious. There’s a reasoning the director has for making the choices he does with the gambling scenes and each character here serves a very specific purpose that makes the movie wildly unpredictable and wholly enjoyable simultaneously.

There are flaws, though. Farrell’s character is never really given a proper realization as to what’s occurring around him in many of the scenes which will leave the audience to question his motives and his own reality. Then, there’s a shot or two of Farrell’s character dancing with Swinton’s during the end credits which feel unearned and deceiving. Much of the movie consists of Farrell’s character gambling and trying to get out of the holes he’s dug around him. Though the performance by Farrell is spot-on, the movie does throw in too many plot twists willy-nilly until it reaches its inevitable, if somewhat hard to predict, climax.

Farrell drives the plot through his fierce and determined performance. In the meantime, Swinton adds another completely unique role to her filmography as well. It could be Fala Chen who ends up being the MVP of Ballad of a Small Player, though. This is a disturbing and powerful story that shows the consequences of being unable to meet your expectations in society whether it be repaying a debt or two or fulfilling one’s daily obligations to the world as a human being. Farrell brings to the role some genuinely crackling tension that makes the film recommended viewing. Chen is the icing on the cake with her own multi-layered turn. Berger’s new film isn’t as strong as his last, but it packs a wallop nevertheless.

Rating: 7.5/10

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