REVIEW: BALLAD OF A SMALL PLAYER

3.5/5

The Life Of Riley

102 Mins. Starring: Colin Farrell, Fala Chen, Deanie Ip, Alex Jennings & Tilda Swinton. Screenplay: Rowan Joffé. Director: Edward Berger. On: Netflix.

Come for the visuals. Stay for the closing credits, 'Love Lies Bleeding' like, iconic dance-off between Colin Farrell and Tilda Swinton that could even serve fellow card counter Oscar Isaac and Sonoya Mizuno in 'Ex Machina', or Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence in 'Silver Linings Playbook'. Netflix are unveiling their prestige pictures this fall, just in time to bait Oscar season. Last week we got Kathryn Bigelow's end of the world as we know it 'A House Of Dynamite', an epic ensemble eld by Rebecca Ferguson and a presidential Idris Elba. Next, we'll get Guillermo del Toro's reanimation of 'Frankenstein' starring Oscar Isaac, after his 'Cabinet Of Curiosities' run with the streaming service. Another great director that's hit with Netflix is Edward Berger ('Jack', 'All My Loving', 'Deutschland 83'). This year, the man behind 'Patrick Melrose' mined Oscar gold with the classic 'Conclave', but before that he was nominated for his nuanced, war-torn version of 'All Quiet On The Western Front'. A landmark film.

Now, Berger works with British screenwriter ('28 Weeks Later', 'The American') and director ('Brighton Rock', 'Before I Go To Sleep') Rowan Joffé to adapt Lawrence Osborne's ('Paris Dreambook', 'The Accidental Tourist', 'Bangkok Days') 'The Ballad Of A Small Player' for the small, streaming service screen. But it deserves a big one for it's IMAX worthy neon skylines, shooting up to the stars like casino fountains. Gambling in Macau, it makes the mesmerizing region of the People's Republic of China look like the Las Vegas that Brandon Flowers of The Killers fabulously sings about. Take that, Atlantic City. And its Springsteen storytelling is rich in the layers and layer of blocked flats that make for more than one perfect shot. Taking solace in the more traditional, relaxed and remote parts of Hong Kong away from the harbour's electric glare. And who better to tell and sing the story of a 'Ballad Of A Small Player' than Emmy winning 'Penguin' actor Colin Farrell ('In Bruges', 'The Lobster') in the sharpest suit, with yellow driv...gambling gloves to match? Applying the tension to how he plays his cards. Drowning in drink, debt and harbouring a hand of regret that ain't worth the bet. A darker 'Fear and Loathing', 'Rum Diary'. Stake him, like Mark Wahlberg in 'The Gambler'.

His lordship looks legendary in this cinematic, cerebral, psychological thriller. All the way down to the way he shakes his expensive (?) watch on after tying his cravat. The iconic, Irish actor made for the darker sides of Hollywood is as brilliant as his moment with 'Conclave' star John Lithgow was during his Emmy winning speech for his unrecognizable role as one of the best pictures in Batman's gallery of rogues. But has he met his match here in the chameleonic Tilda Swinton ('We Need To talk About Kevin', 'Only Lovers Left Alive', 'The Grand Budapest Hotel'), who gives us another classic character capturing? Swinton has given us even more amazing art recently, from Pedro Almodóvar's 'The Room Next Door' with Julianne Moore, to a compelling exhibit from the late, great Ryuichi Sakamoto's posthumous 'Seeing Sound, Hearing Time'. But in a cast as classy as the chips on the table, from legendary singer and actor Deanie Ip, to 'The Crown' and Royal Shakespeare Company' and National Theatre's Alex Jennings, it's the fantastic Fala Chen ('I Love Hong Kong', 'Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings', 'Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire') who will win and haunt your heart. This beautiful ballad is anything but small time. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Further Filming: 'Uncut Gems' 'The Card Counter', 'All Quiet On The Western Front'.