The Debt Collector

This was a good film, with excellent performances. Billy Connolly adds yet another great performance to his growing list of acting achievements. Violent movie, but very realistic, at points in the movie we had sympathies for main male characters, however that does not last until the end of the film, by which time we came to despise them both.

Very much reminded me of the Jimmy Boyle story, for those of you who know of & about him, with Connolly performing that role, indeed I believe he spoke with Boyle prior to filming.

Not a good advert for Edinburgh though!

My title isn't to imply that this movie isn't worth seeing. If you can stand the despair, this movie is fantastic.

I found that the words of the Greeks came back to me as I was watching The Debt Collector. "Those whom the gods will destroy, they first make mad". It seemed apt for a modern tragedy in the tradition of Sophocles.

The best technique that Neilson used was lighting. It's rare to have a movie that goes from such brightness to such gloom. The wedding scene, for instance, was as bright and cheerful as you expect such a scene to be, but after Keltie's parting shot, we are outside, in the rain, the dark, the gloom... perfect!

The violence is something that others have commented on. It is so unlike the Hollywood violence that we are accustomed to seeing. This violence is very real, and more shocking and horrifying because of it. All the male lead characters were capable of violence, and it made me wonder how close we all are from such displays.

The Debt Collector is a story of hatred gone to extremes. It spoke to me of how hatred and revenge are empty ideas... and how it is much more important, if difficult to forgive those who have harmed you, and not to live in the past.

This movie is not for everyone, but if you are interested in tragedy, then you should see this film.

The Debt Collector is a brilliant study of one man's attempt to escape his past without fully paying for his sins and one man's obsession which eventually takes over his life. Nicky Dryden (Billy Connelly) is the man with the past, a vicious debt collector. Keltie (Ken Stott) is the cop who ensnares him and puts him away. When Dryden is released he starts to make a name for himself as an artist and marries a beautiful reporter. Keltie cannot bear to see a man like Dryden living a lifestyle like that after all the horror he created. Dryden of course is a reformed man but is haunted by his past. His wife Val (Francesca Annis) seems to be the only one who understands. All Keltie had is his mother (Annette Crosbie) who is starting to suffer from dementia. When Keltie seeks revenge on Dryden on behalf of all his victims it becomes an obsession. Then Flipper (Iain Robertson) a young thug who hero-worships Dryden, becomes the catalyst for tragic events to unfold and nobodies life is untouched. You will never see a more intense study of obsession. The closest film comparison would be TAXI DRIVER, but that is the story of a loner. The men in Debt Collector both have responsibilities toward family and that is the source of the tragedy in the film. The performances are brilliant, Connelly, Stott, Robertson and Annis are perfect, with Stott deserving a special mention for creating one of the most complicated characters in Scottish Screen History. The Direction is tight, Neilson never once showing his TV roots. This is a film well worth seeking out.

I have just seen this movie and thought I should make a comment on it. The performances by Billy Connolly and Ken Stott deserve accolades,Connolly is just as good as he was in Mrs.Brown,playing a man who after spending years in jail is determined to go straight. Newcomer Iain Robertson also gives a very good performance as a gangster wannabee. This film is a must see movie for Connolly fans,and just for people who like to watch a good quality movie.

Ken Stott who is the policeman who just keeps on hounding Billy Connolly an ex-con, even after the latter has served his sentence, puts in a really brilliant performance. Francesca Annis as Connolly's wife is very good as well. Well paced and riveting throughout this film is well worth seeing when one is sick of all the bang-wham of the big American movies.