To date this remains the only film Anthony Neilson has directed, in fact, he also wrote it and his writing credits can also be counted on one hand. This is a crime, for The Debt Collector is a powerhouse film, a grim and grungy piece of British miserablism that serves to gnaw away at your senses.Billy Connolly stars as ex-con Nickie Dryden, who after release from prison marries and tries to start afresh as an artist. But there is a vengeful policeman on his tail, Gary Keltie (Ken Stott), who believes nobody should ever forget the crimes that Dryden perpetrated.Stripping it down it's a tale of repercussions of actions, of perceived retribution and of off-kilter hero worship. Right from the off you know this is a tragedy piece, something Shakespearian like, clearly we are not in this part of Edinburgh to be cheered up! The colour photography (Dick Pope) is beautiful and belies the harsh nature of the story, while Neilson shows some splendid flighty camera work that gracefully marries up with the great performances of his two lead actors.It's a punch in the face movie, attention grabbing for sure, but it also taxes the brain. An unjustly neglected film that deserves to be sought out by more lovers of gritty British cinema. 9/10Footnote: Subtitles might be required for non British viewers.

This movie really jumps away from your usual good guy bad guy characters for this genre of film. It places Nickie Dryden's character in a position where the viewer doesn't know weather to like him or not. The movie can be a little disturbing at times, but the performances by the main actors are marvelous. Billy Connely really sets a standard of good acting in this piece, and it demonstrates how broad his profile really is, ranging from brilliant comidian to this sometimes dark and un-questionable character in The Debt Collector.

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.

Certainly no evidence of soft, sweet Edinburgh Rock here, instead a hard, boiled "soor ploom" of a film. The explicit realistic, yet necessary, violence does leave a shocked aftertaste, but this is mollified by some humourous sweeteners. Non Scots may wish to take a "universal translator" with them, but the use of dialect merely underlines the authenticity in the setting of the piece. Acting is superb and the story hangs together..well maybe except for the cheesy "tattoo" scene. I certainly would recommend it...and take plenty of sweeties!!