Copyright KABC-TV
HOLLYWOOD -- The new movie, "Ballad of a Small Player," takes us into the world of high-stakes gambling, just not in Las Vegas. Farrell plays a gambler who's found his way to Macau, known as the Las Vegas of Asia. "Being in the chaos of Macau and being in the superficiality of Macau and the constant bombardment of the senses, both the volume and the aesthetics of that place and the empty promises of great fortunes and stuff. It really-I leaned into the environment a lot," said Farrell. His past and his losses are both closing in on him-fast! "His journey in this is so dramatic, it's so heightened and he is close to death throughout the telling of this story, it did feel more foreign to me than somebody-from somebody from the outside looking in could understandably think," said Farrell. Fala Chen plays a character that just may be his saving grace. "When I read it, I was like, 'This is so much fun.' There is so much mystery to it," said Chen. "You never really know what she's going to do!" Edward Berger, the Oscar-nominated director behind "Conclave," knew he hit the jackpot with Macau. "It's poppy, it's colorful, it's bright, it's entertaining. And yet there's something underneath that mirror's Colin's, sort of, the fireworks that go on inside of him," said Berger." All the questions and doubts and knots that are tied in his stomach find an expression, you know, in the colorful blinking lights of Macau. And that's why we loved it so much." Chen did some gambling with her own money so she could understand what it felt like to win and lose. She built up her winnings to about two grand...and then went all in. "And then I lost!" said Chen. If you'd like to take a gamble on "Ballad of a Small Player," it's on Netflix now.
