DRAMA. “Ballad of a Small Player.” / “Villain.” / “Rare Beasts.” / “Wildlife.” / “Cardboard Boxer.” / “Francine.”

“Ballad of a Small Player” (2025, Netflix) is a 2025 British psychological thriller, based on the 2014 novel by Lawrence Osborne. Lord Doyle is laying low in Macau, spending his days and nights on the casino floors. 

       This movie started fine, a subtle gut punch augmented by Colin Farrell's involved performance. Add the lavish presentation of Macau as a gambling hub. Include Tilda Swinton's fancy (or macabre) Cynthia Blithe in the proceedings, though intermittently. Tilda is always remarkable, whatever character coat she wears.

       However, the thrill in this psychological black comedy wanes and withers as we approach the second half. Director Edward Berger lost grip somewhere and the entire joint ended in a conflagration (literally) of wild yet melodramatic pfft. 🎥💻📽

“Villain” (2020, Roku) British film. Follows an ex-convict as he tries to go straight after a ten-year prison sentence. However, he is quickly drawn back into the criminal underworld to save his drug-addicted brother. 

       Eddie Franks is a quiet hero but not as quiet as John Wick or those other whispery machos. Eddie is just quiet, no flash, no swagger. Yet Craig Fairbrass’ delivery makes the character undeniably compelling, thus effective. 

       “Villain” is the directorial debut of Philip Barantini. We need more of him. And Mr Fairbrass. Beware Liam Neeson! 🎥💻📽

“Rare Beasts” (2019, Amazon Prime) British psychological romantic drama, directed by Billie Piper. Mandy is a single mother, living with her mother and son Larch, who suffers from behavioural disorders. 

       The first 15 minutes of this indie were definitely funny in a dark way. Sarcastic, irreverent, witty. But as we carry on, the narrative eerily evolved into a cliché ridden anti-Christianity mockery. Billie Piper's directorial debut had vision and grit but still superficially juvenile in its treatment of the larger premise. 

       But ensemble acting is exemplary, notably Ms Piper and Leo Bill, as the weird and whacked mismatched couple Mandy and Pete. And as the boy Larch, Toby Woolf exudes huge potential. 🎥👍📽

“Wildlife” (2018, Plex) drama, based on the 1990 novel by Richard Ford, and directed by Paul Dano. 

       Story: Fourteen-year-old Joe is the only child of Jeanette and Jerry -- a housewife and a golf pro -- in a small town in 1960s Montana. Nearby, an uncontrolled forest fire rages close to the Canadian border, and when Jerry loses his job -- and his sense of purpose -- he decides to join the cause of fighting the fire, leaving his wife and son to fend for themselves. Suddenly forced into the role of an adult, Joe witnesses his mother's struggle as she tries to keep her head above water.

       Mom and dad are Cary Mulligan and Jake Gyllenhaal; son is Ed Oxenbould, a revelation. 

“Wildlife” because it's a metaphor for the unpredictable and untamed nature of human behavior, particularly within a family setting. The title reflects the film's themes of a family's breakdown, portraying the characters' actions as chaotic and difficult to control, much like wild animals. 

       First-time director Mr Dano (yes, the actor) gave us a piercing drama that doesn't attempt to tear our hearts into weeping smithereens or coax us to issue our own respective judgments. He simply showed us a small family with challenges and issues that are not so different from what most of us went through. Yet “Wildlife” is not an overdone cliché (sic) or ordinary feature. The movie is quietly engaging. 

       Credits go mostly to the painfully involved performance of Carey Mulligan. 🎥👍📽

“Cardboard Boxer” (2016, Roku) drama film. A lonely homeless man who is offered by a young, upper-class kid to fight fellow down-and-outs for money to video it. 

       The better part/s of this grim drama is the acting: Thomas Haden Church, Boyd Holbrook, and Terrence Howard. Other than the performance, nothing else to crow about in this painstakingly mawkish, lumbering indie pretending to be a serious soldier PTSD discourse. 🎥💻📽

“Francine” (2012, Tubi) American-Canadian drama. Francine is released from prison and settles down in a small town. She is unable to regain a foothold in society and turns to animals for comfort. 

       This movie is very sad. Depressing. Not really because of the sad state of dogs and cats that Francine spent time with. It is Francine who is REALLY sad, with or without the pet animals.

       More significantly, I didn't get to know the very reasons why Francine is sad or why she spent time in prison. Or maybe I missed those? 

       Anyhow, Melissa Leo as Francine delivered a very involved performance. But still sad and depressing. I wonder if the director/writer tandem of Brian M. Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky are also sad people? 🎥💻📽