Ballad of a Small Player

Ballad of a Small Player is an upcoming 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. It stars Colin Farrell, Fala Chen, Deanie Ip, Alex Jennings, and Tilda Swinton.^[1]

Ballad of a Small Player
U.S release poster
Directed by	Edward Berger
Screenplay by	Rowan Joffé
Based on	The Ballad of a Small Player by Lawrence Osborne
Produced by	Mike Goodridge Mathew James Wilkinson Edward Berger
Starring	Colin Farrell Fala Chen Deanie Ip Alex Jennings Tilda Swinton
Cinematography	James Friend
Edited by	Nick Emerson
Music by	Volker Bertelmann[1]
Production companies	Good Chaos Nine Hours Stigma Films
Distributed by	Netflix
Release dates	September 9, 2025 (2025-09-09) (TIFF) October 17, 2025 (2025-10-17) (United Kingdom)
Running time	101 minutes[2]
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

The film is slated to have its world premiere in the Special Presentations section of the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2025.^[2][3] It will be released in a limited release in the United States on October 15, 2025, and in the United Kingdom on October 17, before streaming on Netflix on October 29.^[4][1]

Premise

"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."

— Netflix^[5]

Cast

• Colin Farrell as Lord Doyle
• Fala Chen as Dao Ming
• Tilda Swinton as Cynthia Blithe
• Deanie Ip
• Alex Jennings

Production

The film is directed by Edward Berger and written by Rowan Joffé, based on Lawrence Osborne's 2014 novel The Ballad of a Small Player. Mike Goodridge is producing the film for Good Chaos, along with Berger for Nine Hours, as well as Matthew James Wilkinson.^[6] In April 2024, Colin Farrell was cast in the lead role. Later that month, Tilda Swinton joined the cast.^[7][8] In May 2024, Fala Chen joined the cast.^[9] In May 2025, Deannie Yip and Alex Jennings were also revealed to have been in the cast.^[4]

Filming

Principal photography began on June 26, 2024, in Macau and Hong Kong and wrapped on August 25.^[10]