Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Billy Connolly | ... | Nickie Dryden | |
Ken Stott | ... | Gary Keltie | |
Francesca Annis | ... | Val Dryden | |
Iain Robertson | ... | Flipper | |
Annette Crosbie | ... | Lana | |
Alastair Galbraith | ... | Colquhoun | |
Shauna Macdonald | ... | Catriona (as Shauna MacDonald) | |
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Sandy Neilson | ... | Duncan |
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Julie Wilson Nimmo | ... | Young Girl (as Julie Wilson-Nimmo) |
Alan Francis | ... | Young man | |
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James Thomson | ... | Jobbie |
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Stephen Duguid | ... | Kev (as Steven Duguid) |
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Matt Costello | ... | Policeman (as Matt Costelloe) |
Stuart Sinclair Blyth | ... | Policeman (as Stuart Blyth) | |
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Gordon Orr | ... | Scott |
Mean, gritty, dirty, and low - and that's just Policeman Gary Keltie (Ken Stott) out for retribution for the horrendous crimes against the helpless people of Edinburgh, Scotland during the 1970s by notorious, torturous, and killer debt collector Nickie Dryden (Sir Billy Connolly). This is as hard as they come; giants of their professions, one with a trade that needs to be kept secret, and the other holding a grudge. Shot around the City of Edinburgh, with its coarse language and criminal underclass, we see the wrath of spite, hate, jealousy, and violent vengeance all in the final showdown of justice, and with it, its uncompromising final debt to society. Written by Cinema_Fan
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.