Netflix has just dropped the trailer for BALLAD OF A SMALL PLAYER, and it promises to be a tense exploration of desperation and moral decay set against the neon-lit backdrop of Macau.
Colin Farrell stars as Brendan Reilly, an Irish fugitive who has fled to what the film calls “the gambling capital of the universe,” where he’s reinvented himself under the alias Lord Doyle. The footage reveals a man living on borrowed time and borrowed identities, his past rapidly catching up with him in the form of Tilda Swinton’s steely investigator. She confronts him with accusations that cut straight to the bone: he’s stolen a substantial amount of money from her client, described pointedly as “a helpless old woman.”
Swinton delivers what might be the film’s thesis statement when she tells Doyle, “What I see is a man way beyond any redemption,” a judgment that seems both brutal and accurate given what unfolds. Rather than face the consequences, Doyle plunges deeper into the very vice that likely contributed to his downfall, embarking on a frantic gambling spree in a desperate attempt to win enough to settle his mounting debts and those of his love interest, a casino employee played by Fala Chen.
It’s a classic spiral, the kind where each attempt to escape only tightens the noose, and Netflix seems to be banking on Farrell’s ability to make us watch a man destroy himself in real time with the kind of intensity that makes you unable to look away.
Aisling Bea is going to Mars 🚀
The Irish actress and BAFTA TV winner has joined the cast of STARMAN, starring alongside Brendan Fraser and Jeff Daniels, playing defiant Irish photographer Julia Hanley opposite Fraser`s stranded astronaut.
Full details via 🔗︎ in bio!
Irish director Lenny Abrahamson (NORMAL PEOPLE, ROOM) is set to direct YOU ARE HERE.
The eight-part screen adaptation of David Nicholls` best-selling novel will star Claire Foy (THE CROWN) and Matthew MacFayden (SUCCESSION)
Full details via link in bio 🔗︎
Barry Keoghan heads back into Irish indie territory with LEMONADE 🍋
First-look images and details have landed for Kim Bartley`s narrative feature debut, a story about first loves, second chances, and the ties that make a family.
Full preview via link in bio 🔗︎
We`ve lost a national treasure 💔
Oscar-winning singer-songwriter, Glen Hansard, has died as a result of a motorcycle accident in Dublin this morning.
THE COMMITMENTS and ONCE star leaves behind a monumental cultural legacy on screen and stage.
Full tribute via link in bio 🔗︎
Brothers. Betrayal. Drag queens.
STARLINGS, the debut novel from RUSSELL TOVEY (THE NIGHT MANAGER, ANGELS IN AMERICA), has landed as an Audible original — and Andrew Scott has lent his voice to this amazing, brave work.
Listen now via link in bio 🔗︎
Domhnall Gleeson`s acting range is simply unreal.
The STAR WARS and HARRY POTTER star talks his new Peacock mockumentary hit THE PAPER, upcoming work in Werner Herzog`s BUCKING FASTARDS and the current Sundance breakout THE INCOMER.
Watch now via link in bio 🔗︎
Andrew Scott is heading to @tiff_net!
ELSINORE, Scott`s biographical drama about legendary actor Ian Charleson, has landed a Special Presentations slot at TIFF 2026, starring alongside Olivia Coleman.
Full details via link in bio 🔗︎
Who loves truly scary horror?
Ahead of its release, Irish director Damian McCarthy (hows_themovie_goin) talks the art of scaring the bejesus out of his audiences.
New interview via 🔗︎ in bio.
Saoirse Ronan is officially a filmmaker.
Her directorial debut PAPER PLANE — written by Ronan herself and starring Martha Malone, Clare Dunne, and Tim Creed — heads to Venice this September, competing for the Orizzonti Award for Best Short Film.
More at irishfilmtv.com 🔗︎
