In the opening moments of Edward Berger ‘s new film, Ballad Of A Small Player , Colin Farrell as a con man hiding from his past in Macau groggily tries to climb out of bed, rubbing his eyes, and simply says, “oh f*ck!”

It is a great beginning, even if it did remind me of myself after the alarm rudely awakened me at 7:30 AM for this 9:00 AM screening after being up until 2:15 AM writing my Hamnet review. Nevertheless it got my attention and this wild ride of a movie, which had its World Premiere this weekend at the Telluride Film Festival, had me addicted at hello.

It is in fact about a guy who is an addict, not drugs, but gambling. He is carrying on in Macau, China’s answer to Las Vegas but probably ten times as intense, as a “British aristocrat” named Lord Doyle. He is any

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