Colin Farrell Is Set to Star in Gambling Drama THE BALLED OF A SMALL PLAYER for Netflix
Colin Farrell is set to star in a new film project being developed by Netflix titled The Ballad Of A Small Player. Edward Berger will direct the film from a script written by Rowan Joffe.
The movie is based on the novel by Lawrence Osborne, and the story follows a high stakes gambler who after having his past and his debts catch up with him, he decides to lay low in Macau encounters a kindred spirit who might just hold the key to his salvation.”
The description of the book offers a bit more detail. “As night falls on Macau and the neon signs that line the rain-slick streets come alive, Doyle – ‘Lord Doyle’ to his fellow players – descends into his casino of choice to try his luck at the baccarat tables that are the anchor of his current existence.
“A corrupt English lawyer who has escaped prosecution by fleeing to the East, Doyle spends his nights drinking and gambling and his days sleeping off his excesses, continually haunted by his past. Taking refuge in a series of louche and dimly lit hotels, he watches his fortune rise and fall as the cards decide his fate.
“In a moment of crisis he meets Dao-Ming, an enigmatic Chinese woman who appears to be a denizen of the casinos just like himself, and seems to offer him salvation in the form of both money and love. But as Doyle attempts to make a rare and true connection, all that he accepts as reality seems to be slipping from his grasp.”
The story is described as a “timeless tale steeped in eerie suspense and rich atmosphere.”
Production on the film is expected to start later this year, and this sounds like it’ll be another great project for Farrell to take on. The actor continues to stay busy as he’s working on the Apple TV+ noir series Sugar. Later this year, he has The Penguin coming out on Max.
Farrell is currently in production on the Sony drama A Big Bold Beautiful Journey opposite Margot Robbie.
Source: Deadline