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Ballad of a Small Player is a 2025 drama film directed by Edward Berger, written by Rowan Joffé, and based on the 2014 novel The Ballad of a Small Player by Lawrence Osborne.
The film is scheduled for a limited U.S. release on October 15 and will be available on Netflix starting October 29.
It stars Colin Farrell, Fala Chen, Deanie Ip, Alex Jennings, and Tilda Swinton.
The premise, per Wikipedia:
"Lord Doyle is laying low in Macau – spending his days and nights on the casino floors, drinking heavily and gambling what little money he has left. Struggling to keep up with his fast-rising debts, he is offered a lifeline by the mysterious Dao Ming, a casino employee with secrets of her own. However, in hot pursuit is Cynthia Blithe – a private investigator ready to confront Doyle with what he is running from. As Doyle tries to climb to salvation, the confines of reality start to close in."
CasinoBeats reports that the movie is one of the largest budget productions in the area and could provide a boost to tourism amid a period of growth.
Netflix released a trailer for the upcoming film with the Reddit community believing this could be the real deal.
"There’s something so classical about it, the way his compositions are always so precise and how he emphasizes color to pretty beautiful degree. "
"I love how Edward Berger movies look "
"Farrell might genuinely be getting the overdue narrative, more so than anyone else in the running, so he’s my favourite to win."
"This has been downplayed all year, kinda how Conclave was before it premiered, but I think Farrell could win for this."
"Cinematography nomination should be a lock but it should’ve been for Conclave as well so we’ll see."
"For Edward Berger, the grind never ends and he keeps himself busy. Respect the dedication to work and trying to branch out as a director."
- Jordan Bach, Gambling911.com
