The House always wins, but Colin Farrell’s character in his new movie hopes to be the exception to that rule.

In Ballad of a Small Player, coming to theaters and streaming on Netflix in October, Farrell plays Lord Doyle, a high-stakes gambler in Macau, China. According to the movie’s synopsis, Doyle is “spending his days and nights on the casino floors, drinking heavily and gambling what little money he has left. Struggling to keep up with his fast-rising debts, he is offered a lifeline by the mysterious Dao Ming (Fala Chen), a casino employee with secrets of her own.”

Tilda Swinton also stars as a private investigator who is looking to confront Doyle. In the trailer, we see Farrell’s character having a series of freakouts – in a hotel room corridor, sitting on the floor of his shower, while eating room service lobster, and for some reason, while holding a block of ice.

Farrell as Doyle also has some ups to go with his downs, finding success at the gambling table, at least for a little while. A fellow gambler teases Farrell that he’s losing his touch, and he replies, “I may be out of puff, but I still have my balls.”

Edward Berger directs Ballad of a Small Player, which is his first film after his Oscar-winning papal lottery movie Conclave. Rowan Joffe’s script is based on author Lawrence Osborne’s 2014 novel of the same name.

Alex Jennings and Deannie Yip also star in Ballad, which opens in US theaters on October 15th, and will be available for streaming globally on October 29th.

Before that, Ballad of a Small Player will screen at TIFF and other fall film festivals, including the Zurich Film Festival where Farrell will receive the Golden Icon Award.