John Chard
The debt that must be paid.
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 ...