Billy Connolly has made the transition from comedy to straight dramatic roles with a great deal more success than most. In The Debt Collector he plays Nicky Dryden, a violent debt collector who has served 18 grim years in prison, only to have found rehabilitation on the outside as a successful sculptor and respectability in marriage to Francesca Annis. However, Keltie (Ken Stott) the policeman who originally arrested him is disgusted at this ex-con's social elevation and undertakes an obsessive campaign of stalking and harassment, refusing to allow him to bury his... past. It is Keltie, in a sense, who is the true debt collector of the title--he doesn't believe Dryden either has or ever can repay society. Furthermore, Dryden is idolised by a young thug (Iain Robertson) who bases his psychotic lifestyle on Dryden's past exploits. Stott and Connolly make excellent, craggy adversaries, with the frustrated, embittered ex-cop cutting a menacing, though at times pathetic character, while Connolly's Dryden knows that his past, violent side is capable of erupting at any time. This gloomily compelling drama has moments of sickeningly concussive impact as it winds its way down to its tragic conclusion. Annette Crosbie as Keltie's vulnerable yet curiously strong Mother, turns in a fine supporting performance. --David Stubbs [show more]
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