Simply A Masterpiece

Fantastic!

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

I really enjoyed this movie. The acting was excellent throughout and the storyline gritty and lifelike. This is life at the raw end of the spectrum. The violence was visceral and essential to the plot. Some good sights of Edinburgh and the iconic Forth Rail Bridge.A tale of a violent man struggling to shake off his past, though it seems far behind him. When a contemporary from that past makes it all the more difficult to forget the haunting truth of 'another' life. Nick Dryden ,convicted gangster and man of violence emerges from prison a respected sculptor and marries a middle class journalist.Francesca Annis for me took the acting honours though all the male roles were almost equally well performed.Stott and Connolly both excel.As someone said already 'a debt well worth collecting', see it soon if you haven't already

This is a clever movie. Investigators try to get into the mind of a criminal and become them. That takes obsession, but what happens when obsession takes you? It's a fact of life that most people would like to be the tough, bad guy and this seems to be where this movie gets it's ideas. A life time on stage has prepared Connolly well. His performance is admirable. Admittedly, it's been about 3 years since I seen this film as I write this, though I remember strong feelings associated with it. There's something very real about it. I don't want to spoil this for anyone thinking of watching it, so I'll just say the "assualt" scene is particularly real and horrifically scary, as is the fight scene. No stupid Hollywood sound effects added to this one, and that's what makes it so damn scary because it doesn't seem as though it's just an act. If you like Connolly, check it out. If you like a thriller, same deal. If you like movies at all, there's no reason not to have a peek.

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.

Ewan's birthday video choice and he picks The Debt Collector. (Now is not the time for the censorship debate.) His choice was probably affected by the Billy Connolly star billing. He thinks the Big Yin is very funny. I blow hot and cold. I fell about with his tales of Clydebank and shipbuilding. I stopped laughing when it came to polo on elephants with Ringo. It got positively boring during the bodily function years. Still, all in all, I like Billy. I think he is funny. And intelligent. And an actor worth his salt. Here he spends the whole film without a smile yet carries me with his stony expressions. The Debt Collector is a whole hod of hard bricks without a soft edge amongst them, cemented into one big wall. Nothing fancy, but you can't ignore it.Ron