October 31, 2025
Lord Freddy Doyle (Colin Farrell) was a British aristocrat who had been gambling in a high-class casino in Macau. He had been on an unfortunate losing streak, so he had already incurred a huge debt. He went to try his luck at the Rainbow Room, the only casino where he can play on credit. He lost to ruthless card shark Grandma (Deanie Ip) at baccarat. Casino employee Dao Ming (Fala Chen) offered him a loan so he can still continue playing.
It was uncomfortable to watch Lord Doyle unable to control his gambling addiction even if he was already sinking into pathetic depths. We have seen countless gambling addicts go down the same way in other films before, from "The Gambler" (1974) to "Uncut Gems" (2019). Addiction is never a pretty picture, even if you looked like Colin Farrell and wore Doyle's scarlet jacket and yellow gloves made in Saville Row.
The movie takes a mysterious turn when Doyle encounters Dao Ming again after one of the gamblers she lent credit to committed suicide. It was the Festival of the Hungry Ghost, so he went with Dao to a temple so she can pray away her guilt, feeling that she has run out of chances. They talked on a bench near the sea that whole night. The next morning, Doyle woke up alone on the bench, noting that some numbers had been written on his hand.
His next encounter with private investigator Betty Grayson (Tilda Swinton) who was stalking Doyle to recover the money he had stolen from an old client of hers. With her quirky glasses and frumpy dresses, Swinton was a delightful sweetheart even as she looked like a fish out of water in the casino. As Betty was always dead serious about her work, Doyle tried to lighten her up by inviting her to dance. In that regard, don't you miss the mid-credit scenes.
Just when you thought that Doyle's story was going to have a typical ending, along comes a sudden twist in the final act that you never saw coming, challenging viewers to make the surprise revelation make sense. Director Edward Berger was consistent with his beautiful, artistic camera work, with Oscar-winning cinematographer James Friend. Colin Farrell likely knew many of his lines were cliche, but he still managed to spin acting gold from them. 7/10
