Ballad of a Small Player (2025): High Risk, High Reward...or is it?

Ballad of A Small Player is a British dark comedy and psychological thriller film that premiered on Netflix on October 29^th, 2025. Directed by Edward Berger, and written by Rowan Joffe, the film is based on a 2014 novel of the same name by Lawrence Osborne. It has a runtime of 1 hour, 42 minutes and follows a gambling addict who has committed multiple thefts and frauds to support his lifestyle and his journey to overcome his addiction.

Premise

Brendan Reilly, a fallen Irish financier now masquerading as the British noble “Lord Doyle,” has exiled himself to Macau after escaping his financial scams, fraud, and theft in the United Kingdom. Addicted to gambling, he moves from one gilded hotel to another, haunting the city’s casinos where he wagers away both cash and credit borrowed to him. Behind the charm of his aristocratic façade, Reilly spirals into dependence on alcohol, superstition, and the fleeting euphoria of the card game Baccarat.

Reilly’s erratic habits soon draw the attention of casino staff and the city’s wealthy regulars, who dismiss him as a gwailo: a “foreign ghost.” With his debts piling up, he clings to the baccarat tables, where he encounters Dao Ming, an enigmatic credit broker. After one of her despairing clients leaps to his death, a shaken Dao finds solace in Reilly’s unexpected comfort and takes him to a floating temple on the opening night of the Ghost Festival. Though she confesses that her luck has soured, Reilly insists that their fortunes might yet change, swearing to pay both his and her debt with “one big win”. But by morning, he wakes alone, with a string of numbers scrawled on his hand.

As Reilly’s losing streak worsens, his past resurfaces in the form of investigator Cynthia Blithe (alias: Betty Grayson), who confronts him in Macau and demands repayment of his embezzled funds from London within twenty-four hours or face deportation to the U.K. to stand trial. This deadline happens to extend to a hotel debt he also owes. Desperate and unraveling, Reilly searches in vain for Dao Ming, convinced she can save him, and turns instead to Adrian Lippett, a fellow expatriate con artist, only to discover that Lippett is cooperating with Blithe. Betrayed and with no options left, Reilly leaves for Hong Kong, drifting through the night in a haze of alcohol and despair, eventually dining excessively at an upscale restaurant he can no longer afford as he awaits the end of his deadline. In his final moments, gripped by panic and delirium, he sees Dao again before collapsing from a heart attack.

Reilly regains consciousness in a floating house off Lamma Island, where Dao tends to him in isolation. As they recover from their respective failures, a fragile intimacy develops. Reilly confides in Dao that gambling and alcohol were “hereditary addictions” passed down from father, grandfather and many others down the line. Dao in turn explains that she had run away from home due to being unable to thrive in her superstitiously misogynistic hometown culture. Her father had died shortly after due to heartbreak and her mother never forgave her for it. Dao remarks that they are “kindred spirits”, bad people heading for hell when they die. Reilly reaffirms his vow to save her. The next morning however, he is left alone again. He deciphers the number written on his hand as the code to her locked shed where he discovers sacks of cash concealed beneath the water inside.

“It’s not too late for you…”

Unable to resist, Reilly takes the money and goes back to Macau, where he goes through an absolute rollercoaster as he settles his debt, begins gambling again (albeit on a suspicious winning streak), before an ultimate confrontation and a shocking bitter truth cause him to give up gambling forever, choosing to live a normal life.

Cast and Performances

Colin Farrell as Brendan Reilly / “Lord Doyle”
Fala Chen as Dao-Ming
Tilda Swinton as Cynthia Blithe / Betty Grayson
Deanie Ip as “Grandma”
Alex Jennings as Adrian Lippett

I think one of the very few things that save this movie is the superb acting, especially in part of our male lead. While his character barely made any sense conceptually (practically none of them do), Farrell is able to at least give the few parts of Reilly that the audience are able to put together some depth and watchability. That pretty much goes the same for pretty much the entire cast; putting on such a superb performance for honestly what I consider an incredibly mediocre script.

Pretty mediocre character writing too, but ‘mediocre’ might honestly be an understated term. There is practically no element of storytelling that they contribute to the film. Not a cohesive one anyway. Reilly is a gambling addict, Dao Ming is a troubled native who brings out his hero complex, Cynthia is the “stuck up, uptight, killjoy” who doesn’t “know how to live” (mind you, she’s doing her literal freaking job), and ultimately becomes fond of him (enough to even share a kiss) towards the end despite having maybe two or three scenes together in the entire film. It was honestly very strange and random (not to mention highly unprofessional) to watch their interactions. Before his final bet, he goes off on a long ramble about how he and Cynthia are the same and tries to convince to keep and run away with the money that she was literally hired to investigate him for. And at first, she appears as confused as we are (and as she should be) but then she suddenly seems to ‘get it’. She’s reached an epiphany and is now rooting for the international compulsive gambling criminal.

The only character I was genuinely intrigued about was Grandma. I had quite a number of theories about her ranging from “She’s cheating the games” to “She was planted by the casino” to “She’s the human incarnation of the seven deadly sins.”. She sparked my curiosity and intrigue. And do you know what the equally intriguing exposition I got that answered all my questions was?

Yes, you guessed it. Absolutely Nothing.

What I Liked and Disliked

Oh, the visuals on this one were stunning. Usually, any scene involving Macau’s night time skyline will always be otherworldly, and this movie did not disappoint. Pretty much every scene, from the casinos to the floating house on Lamma Island, was aesthetically pleasing.

Once again, I will give high props to the actors for giving their all to their respective characters despite the script and dialogue crumbling before our very eyes.

That’s where my accolade ends though.

Because there is barely a plot, and for such a high-stakes setting, there aren’t that many “high stakes” scenarios either. There is nothing there that helps us connect to the main character. Of course not every character has to be likeable but there has to be some form connection, there has to be a reason we actually care whether he wins or loses, but the movie does not give us the dialogue nor the exposition to feel…anything for him. We are instead lumped with two extended scenes of Reilly devouring food in what could only be described as absolute gluttony, and not to mention repetitive scenes of him constantly losing his shit for no apparent reason.

And I won’t even get into Dao Ming and the messiness.

First of all, I saw the plot twist coming from a mile away, anticipated it even. But I’m not sure why it was so important to Reilly, why Dao Ming was so important to Reilly. The movie only shows one interaction between them and that is apparently enough for Reilly to develop this weird hero complex about her. Promising to pay her debt alongside his.

Mind you, he owes almost one million pounds just to one person.

Overall, the dynamic was weird, the relationship was weird (let’s not forget that he literally kissed Cynthia and spent the end credits dancing with her so I have no idea what’s going on there.).

Final Thoughts

Ballad of A Small Player was a confusing watch, to the point where there was no takeaway. The viewer finishes the movie in the same way they started it. And I wouldn’t call this a bad film. It just could use much more coherency.

I rate Ballad of a Small Player (2025): 2 out of 5

Our Rating of This Movie

Have you seen the movie? What are your thoughts on Reilly’s actions? I’d love to read your opinion.

Author

Winifred Eze

Winnie is a business student by day and a writer by night, with a passion for movies and the art of storytelling. Whether it’s dissecting a film’s themes, exploring character arcs, or celebrating cinematic masterpieces, she loves diving deep into the magic of the big screen. She also strives to bring fresh perspectives and engaging discussions to fellow writers and readers.