- Title: The Debt Collector
- Date: 26th May 2001
- Description:THE DEBT COLLECTOR is a contemporary thriller which explores the dual between two men. Nickie Dryden (Billy Connolly) is a convicted murderer and former loan shark who has served a long prison sentence and is now hailed as a model for rehabilitation. Keltie (Kenn Stott) is the policeman who convicted him, who plans to ensure that Dryden's crimes are never forgotten or forgiven. Starring Billy Connolly (NICKIE DRYDEN) (Mrs Brown) , Ken Stott (GARY KELTIE) (The Boxer, Plunkett & Macleane), Francesca Annis (VAL DRYDEN), Iain Robertson (FLIPPER), Annette Crosbie (LANA), Alistair Galbraith (COLQUHOUN) Produced by Graham Broadbent and Damian Jones. Written and directed by Anthony Neilson (directorial debut). Casting director; Jina Jay, Original music; Adrian Johnston, Costume; Trisha Biggar, Line Producer; Liz Bunton; Editor; John Wilson, Production Designer; Mark Geraghty; Director of Photography; Dick Pope. Principal photography from 20th April to 30th May in Glasgow and Edinburgh. PR McDonald & Rutter. · Ratio: 1:2:35 · Sound: Dolby SR · Footage: · Running time: 110 mins · Certificate: tbc ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE DEBT COLLECTOR A Dragon Pictures Production for FilmFour in association with The Glasgow Film Fund. € FilmFour Ltd MCMXCVIII Cast list NICKIE DRYDEN BILLY CONNOLLY GARY KELTIE KEN STOTT VAL DRYDEN FRANCESCA ANNIS FLIPPER IAIN ROBERTSON COLQUHOUN ALISTAIR GALBRAITH JOBBIE JAMES THOMSON LANA ANNETTE CROSBIE SCOTT GORDON ORR DUNCAN SANDY NEILSON KEV STEVEN DUGIUD ALICE UNA McCLEAN GREGOR JIMMY LOGAN MACRIEFF ANDREW NEIL YOUNG GIRL JULIE WILSON NIMMO YOUNG MAN ALAN FRANCIS CATRIONA SHAUNA MACDONALD KEV STEVEN DUGUID JANITOR FORD KIERNAN LULU RONNIE ANCONA RADIO INTERVIEWER NEIL MCKINVEN DOCTOR DEIRDRE DAVIS LAWYER ANDREW BARR POLICEMAN IN COURT ROBBIE SMITH DEMPSEY POLICEMAN 1 MATT COSTELLO POLICEMEN 2 STUART BLYTH SUSIE JENNY FAULDS SHIRLEY SHAUNA MACDONALD NURSE JULIA CURRIE BARMAID DAWN STEELE TICKET COLLECTOR DEBBIE MURRAY TATTOO OFFICIAL PHIL MCKEE DOCTOR DEIRDRE DAVIS THE DEBT COLLECTOR Crew list Director/Screenplay writer Anthony Neilson Producers Graham Broadbent Damian Jones Line producer Liz Bunton Director of photography Dick Pope Editor John Wilson Production designer Mark Geraghty Casting director Jina Jay Sound recordist Colin Nicolson Script supervisor Margaret Graham Wardrobe designer Trisha Biggar Hair and make-up designer Caroline Noble Accountant Wendy Ellerker 1st assistant director Mary Soan Location manager Robert How Production co-ordinator Ruta Ozuls Producer's assistants Katie Goodson Elaine Chin Assistant location manager Michael Higson Production office runner Drew Cain Post-production co-ordinator Alistair Hopkins 2nd assistant director Josh Roberston 3rd assistant director Michael Queen Floor runner Mark Murdoch Extras co-ordinator Alex Purbrick Assistant casting director Shaheen Baig Casting assistant (Glasgow) Julie Austin Assistant production accountant Fry Martin Steadicam operator Alistair Rae Focus puller Lewis Buchan Clapper/loader Derek Walker Camera grips Colin Strachan Stuart Bunting Camera trainee Mark Thomas Boom operator Tony Cook Sound trainee Kamala Maniam Art director Ken Wheatley Assistant art director Laura Donnelly Set decorator/ props buyer Sue Morrison Art department runner Emer O'Sullivan Dryden's sculptures Adam Butcher Props master Peter Grant Dressing props Dennis Knotts Alan Doyle Standby props Douglas Glen Tony Sheridan Construction manager Jamie Baxter Standby carpenter Richard Hassall Standby painter Paul Curren Standby rigger Billy Wilson Wardrobe supervisor Eleanor Baker Wardrobe assistant John Laurie Chief make-up artist Caroline Noble Hairdresser Heather Millington Stunt co-ordinator Lee Sheward Stunt doubles Ray de Haan Andreas Petrides Tracey Eddon Neil Finnighan Gaffer Willie Cadden Best boy Graham Walker Electricians Arthur Donnelly Paul Bates Generator operator Stewart Farmer 1st assistant editor Mark Eckersley Dubbing editor Zane Haywood Dialogue editor Steward Henderson Effects editor Anthony Faust Stills photographer Joss Barratt Publicity McDonald & Rutter Unit publicist Linda Gamble Runner/drivers Jas Brown Paul Smyth Grip van driver Thomas Bryce Wardrobe driver Charlie Simpson Props drivers Bob Etherson Eric Smith Make-up truck driver Charlie Morris Minibus driver Bill Stevenson Caterers Guy Cowan, Reel Food Composer Adrian Johnston Introduction Starring Billy Connolly and Ken Stott, THE DEBT COLLECTOR, a dark contemporary thriller set in Edinburgh, written and directed by Anthony Neilson, was shot in Glasgow and Edinburgh during April and May 1998, with a special shoot mounted to capture the Edinburgh Military Tattoo in August. Produced by Graham Broadbent and Damian Jones, THE DEBT COLLECTOR is a Dragon Pictures Production for FilmFour Ltd., with support from the Glasgow Film Fund. THE DEBT COLLECTOR marks the feature film debut of director/screenplay writer Anthony Neilson, who has written extensively for theatre and radio. His most recent stage production, as both writer and director, "The Censor", transferred to The Royal Court Theatre, where it gathered rave reviews and was described by The Daily Telegraph as "one of the most haunting, original and courageous plays of the year." Billy Connolly was nominated in 1998 for a BAFTA award for his role opposite Golden Globe winner and Oscar nominee Dame Judi Dench, in the international hit MRS BROWN, and has since starred in the Clement/La Frenais ensemble comedy STILL CRAZY, alongside Stephen Rea, Timothy Spall and Jimmy Nail. Ken Stott recently starred on screen with Daniel Day Lewis, in THE BOXER, on television in the BAFTA winning drama series "Takin' Over The Asylum" and on stage in the original cast of "Art", with Albert Finney and Tom Courtenay. He will soon be seen in the forthcoming film "Plunkett and Macleane. Iain Robertson made his feature film debut in Gillies MacKinnon's SMALL FACES, winning a Scottish BAFTA for his performance. Francesca Annis was nominated for a BAFTA award for her recent performance in the drama series "Reckless". A strong supporting cast includes Annette Crosbie, Alistair Galbraith, and veteran Scottish entertainers Jimmy Logan and Una McClean. Dragon Pictures most recent production was Michael Winterbottom's WELCOME TO SARAJEVO, starring Stephen Dillane and Woody Harrelson. THE DEBT COLLECTOR is distributed in the UK by FilmFour Distributors, with international sales handled by FilmFour International, both divisions of FilmFour Ltd. Very short synopsis A contemporary thriller which explores the battle between two men - a convicted murderer who has served his sentence and is hailed as a model for rehabilitation and the policeman who plans to ensure his crimes are never forgotten or forgiven. Short synopsis Ex loan shark and convicted murderer Dryden (Billy Connolly) seems to have paid his debt to society. He has served his sentence in one of Britain's toughest prisons. He is happily married and hailed as a talented sculptor by the art world. Eighteen years on, Keltie, (Ken Stott) the policeman responsible for his conviction, cannot accept Dryden's rehabilitation and embarks on a campaign to ensure his violent crimes are not forgotten or forgiven. As Dryden and Keltie clash, a disturbed teenager Flipper (Iain Robertson) is goaded by his hero worship for Dryden into violent acts which are the catalyst for the final confrontation between the policeman who has stepped outside the law and the ex-criminal who cannot ignore his past. Synopsis Edinburgh, 1979: In the pool-hall that serves as his base of operations, Nickie Dryden confronts one of his many debtors over an outstanding loan. Just as events are about to turn nasty, the debtor reveals himself as Gary Keltie, an undercover policeman. He arrests Dryden for murder. Edinburgh, 1997: The opening night of an exhibition of Nickie Dryden's sculptures. Eighteen years on from his arrest, he has become the darling of the art world. He's initially ill at ease, but is reassured by his wife, Val, an affluent writer and journalist. Dryden's moment of glory is interrupted by the arrival of Keltie, the policeman who arrested him all those years ago. To the shock of the gallery audience, Keltie uses a knife to disfigure one of Dryden's busts, simulating an attack on an old woman carried out by Dryden in his criminal days. Keltie leaves with an ominous warning to his old enemy: "You may have paid your debt to these fine people, Nickie - but your own folk'll be waiting on you." After the exhibition, Dryden explains who Keltie is to Val. He refuses to press charges, unwilling to rake over the details of his past crimes, and hoping Keltie's threat was hollow. Meanwhile in another part of the city, young thug Flipper and his adolescent gang attack a young couple, demanding money. He achieves his goal by assaulting the young woman to persuade the young man to pay up. Although we don't yet know it, this is an application of Nickie Dryden's policy. Nickie Dryden is Flipper's hero. The next day, at the Police Station, Keltie is suspended from duty for his actions in the gallery. We are introduced to Keltie's ex-partner, the long-suffering Colquhoun. In the shed in the garden of his beautiful house overlooking the Firth of Forth, Nickie Dryden works on his newest sculpture. Indoors, Val swaps a few words with Scott, her son from her previous marriage, before going upstairs to work on her books. From her window, she sees Keltie watching the house. She confronts him - he expresses amazement that, as a mother, she can live with a man like Dryden, citing some 'policy' as proof of Dryden's innate callousness. Val has never heard the term before, but she doesn't let on. But the question remains with her as she watches Dryden gives a live interview that afternoon. Flipper is also present in the audience. At a restaurant afterwards, Val asks Dryden to explain this 'policy'. Reluctantly, he admits that he and his cohorts used to maim the friends and relatives, wives and children of debtors who were unwilling to meet their obligations. Although she knew of instances where this had happened, it shocks her to hear it described as a cold-blooded policy. The first seeds of doubt have been sown. Keltie returns home to the house he shares with his mother, Lana. Children in his street shout insults at him. Keltie is devoted to his mother, and wishes he could provide her with a better life. She, in turn, is saddened that his life is not fuller. Not wanting to think this, he shows her a picture of Dryden's wife, claiming that she is his current girlfriend. Flipper and his gang deliver stolen videos to Macrieff, once a lieutenant to Nickie Dryden and now one of the city's top criminals. Flipper, frustrated by small crime and wanting to develop his talent for violence, asks Macrieff if he has any such work. Macrieff declines the offer. Flipper and his friend Jobbie break into a public swimming pool after hours. While Flipper is boasting about an imagined friendship with Dryden, they are discovered by a janitor. After a struggle, the janitor falls into the pool, where Flipper attacks him, slashing open his face. The two boys flee, leaving him bleeding at the poolside. Keltie calls Dryden's house in the middle of the night. He taunts him, implying that Val's desire for him is some warped fetish for violent men. Val disconnects the phone before Dryden can hear more. Their relationship seems increasingly shaky. On his way to Val's sister's wedding the next day, Dryden visits the gallery. Flipper is there, watching him. Dryden notices this and confronts him. Flipper expresses interest in buying a sculpture but his real interest becomes clear when he offers to work as a debt collector to pay for it. Amazed and angered by Flipper's stupidity, Dryden walks out on him. Flipper pursues Dryden only to see him getting into a taxi with his stepson, Scott. Flipper's eyes blaze with jealousy at Scott's relationship with Dryden. At the wedding, Dryden watches and enjoys his new family, though it becomes obvious that Val's parents disapprove of the relationship. The joyful occasion is shattered when Keltie arrives, trailing a rag-tag group of Dryden's past victims and shaming him in front of the whole congregation. Finally snapping, Dryden chases after him and a fight ensues outside the marquee. Dryden is dragged off the policeman and Keltie drives off, again warning him that his punishment has only just begun. Flipper visits Jobbie's house , where his terrified friend tells him that the janitor they attacked has subsequently died of a heart attack. Shocked at first, Flipper begins to feel strangely empowered. He now realises the solutions to his problems. A few days later, Val is woken by police at her door. Her first assumption is that Dryden has been hurt but in fact they're there to inform her that her son has been murdered. Val is devastated, and convinced that Keltie is the culprit. Dryden comforts her as best as he can. Keltie is tracked down to a small strip-bar by his ex-partner, Colquhoun. His embarrassment at this, coupled with his lack of compassion over Scott's murder, could easily be read as guilt and Colquhoun eventually asks Keltie his whereabouts on the night of the crime. Keltie is horrified and offended. On his way to Scott's funeral, Val pressures Dryden to take some action against Keltie, not trusting the police to stop him. Dryden, who is not so certain of Keltie's involvement, dismisses her request. But when he realises that Keltie is watching the funeral from afar, his mind is made up: whether Keltie's the culprit or not, something must be done. Ironically Keltie had come not to gloat, but to lay their battle to rest. Dryden visits the old pool-hall, now owned by his old cohort Macrieff, and asks for help. He wants Keltie out of action at least until Val has had time to grieve. Macrieff is reluctant to have a police officer attacked by one of his men, preferring to use someone unknown and pass it off as a random mugging. Unbeknownst to Dryden, Macrieff hires Flipper to do the job. Realising that the job is being done for Nickie Dryden, Flipper decides to use his initiative and use the policy: rather than attacking Keltie, he carries out a brutal assault on Lana, Keltie's mother. Returning home, Keltie discovers her barely alive. After taking her to hospital, the distraught policeman heads off for a final confrontation with Dryden. At the Dryden home, Val is under sedation. Not wanting to spend the evening with her parents, Dryden pretends that he's going to the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. Instead, he goes to the gallery where he meets Flipper, who tells him what he's done to Keltie's mother. Dryden loses his temper and beats Flipper so viciously that the young boy actually dies. Panicked, Dryden decides to go to the Tattoo after all, in the hope that it will provide him with an alibi. Meanwhile, Keltie arrives at Dryden's house and finds only Val. He demands to know where Dryden is and a struggle ensues. Keltie overpowers Val - rage turns to grief and grief to lust. He rapes her. Disgusted and shocked by his actions, Keltie discovers Val's unused Tattoo invitation and realises Dryden must be there. Dryden leaves the claustrophobic confines of the VIP box, suddenly worried about Val. He comes face to face with Keltie and the two men engage in a vicious knife duel. Months later, a still-disabled Dryden is acquitted of Keltie's murder. He pleads with Val to speak to him, but she will not. Inside the courtroom, Dryden sees a poster appeal for the unknown murderer of Flipper. He ponders this alone, a ruined man. Outside the city, Keltie's partner Colquhoun, drives the wheelchair-bound Lana to a rest home in the countryside and we leave her staring out at the beautiful garden Keltie could never give her in life. THE DEBT COLLECTOR About the production the producers In 1996 Graham Broadbent and Damian Jones set up the production company Dragon Pictures in London and Los Angeles. Says Broadbent, "Our aim is to identify talent, and work with them to make films, rather than find a script and put together a package around that. The film industry is about people and their vision, and, particularly in the independent sector, it is passion that drives a good project." Dragon Pictures' first film, WELCOME TO SARAJEVO, had united the talents of scriptwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce and director Michael Winterbottom, a combination that attracted financing from Channel Four and Miramax and engaged the talents of Hollywood actors Woody Harrelson and Marisa Tomei as well as Stephen Dillane and Kerry Fox. The film was invited to screen in competition at Cannes Film Festival and many others around the world. In spring 1997 Graham Broadbent went to the theatre to see "The Censor", Anthony Neilson's controversial play, staged by the Royal Court Theatre. Says Broadbent, "I wasn't really looking forward to sitting through another fringe production, but I was transfixed for two hours. I was instantly impressed with the ideas behind the play, as well as the writing and directing skills it showed." The next day, Broadbent found that Neilson's agent had delivered the script of THE DEBT COLLECTOR to him. "It impressed me as a good story, well told, which operates on a number of levels." says Broadbent. Broadbent met with Neilson and was immediately convinced that he should direct his own screenplay. "As a producer you want to find someone who has a clear vision of the film they want to make and Anthony certainly has that. Although he is a first time feature director he already has ten years experience as a theatre director and had success with a short film, so I had no doubt that he would work well with the actors. Then as a producer my task was to surround him with the best talent behind the camera as a support team." Director of Photography Dick Pope has won awards for his work with Mike Leigh, and Production Designer Mark Geraghty's credits include Dragon's WELCOME TO SARAJEVO, as well as Pat O'Connor's DANCING AT LUGHNASA. The script had already attracted interest, in particular from one Hollywood actor who wanted relocate the story in Chicago as a starring vehicle for himself. Broadbent had to work fast to secure funding for an option and turned first to Film Four. The next few months were spent working on the script and preparing to move into production. Neilson had written the part of Keltie with Scottish actor Ken Stott in mind. His availability, and the completion of the script, coincided with a change of structure at Channel Four Films, as Paul Webster replaced David Aukin to become boss of the new look Film Four Ltd. During his tenure as Head of Production at Miramax Paul Webster had acted as production executive for the American company on Dragon's WELCOME TO SARAJEVO, and had enough confidence in Dragon and the quality of the material to green light the film in his first week at his new post. Broadbent was surprised that THE DEBT COLLECTOR was turned down for a grant by the Scottish Arts Council, who control the funding from the Scottish Lottery, but was appreciative that the Glasgow Film Fund were able to provide funds. "Just enough to oil the wheels; a vital boost to a production with a lean budget.", is how he described their contribution. The Glasgow Film Fund can support the budget of feature films which are either made by Glasgow based production companies, or by producers who will film in Glasgow, thus bringing money into the local community. The Glasgow Film Fund and Scottish Screen, the national initiative set up to encourage filming in Scotland, both offered practical help with locations and facilities to THE DEBT COLLECTOR production team. the director In writing THE DEBT COLLECTOR Anthony Neilson wanted to return to the type of psychological thriller made in Hollywood in the Seventies. "I wanted to write an old-school classically motivated tragedy, of the genre that Hollywood seems to have abandoned." says the director. "At the same time it was important to me that the film was firmly set in Scotland. It's an attempt to say that we can create thrillers with epic emotional landscapes. With the move towards devolution and a new stage in Scotland's development I wanted to explore the Scottish myth of the worship of the hard man, and that part of the Scottish psyche which tends to worship the people who betray us." Although experienced in stage writing and directing, as a newcomer to feature film directing Neilson wanted to tackle film in a more conventional way, using a classical style. "I feel I have to learn the language of film before attempting to turn conventions on their head." he adds. Setting the film in his home city of Edinburgh, which has never before featured so strongly on film, gives THE DEBT COLLECTOR more of a European noir restrained feel. Describing his screenplay as a "why-dunnit", Anthony Neilson adds, "I hope I've created an urban Scottish Western, where the audience will examine the effects of violence, rather than violence itself, and will be saddened by the depiction of pointlessly wasted lives. On the surface it's a psychological thriller which relies on characterisation, but we are also putting an audience to the test of how much they are prepared to forgive." In casting Billy Connolly as Nickie Dryden, a hard man who has served his sentence and found a way to convert the negative energies of his criminal past to the positive energy of creating sculpture, Neilson was recognising the mirror image in Connolly's own life. "Billy Connolly is himself an icon in Scotland. He rose from the working class of the Clyde Shipyards to be a Scottish national hero, and then gained recognition for himself, and Scotland, all over the world. Like Dryden, he raised himself above his roots. When Billy chose to relocate himself to Los Angeles a lot of people in Scotland took this as a personal betrayal. Everyone in Scotland has an opinion on Billy Connolly." says Neilson. "Seeing him on screen, I think his stature in the acting community is confirmed." As an actor on set, Neilson praises Connolly, "He has a very comfortable manner and treats everyone as equals. At the same time he seems to be enjoying himself, so he's very easy to spend time with." Neilson had only ever imagined the role of Keltie, the avenging Calvinist policeman, being played by Ken Stott, whom he had mainly admired on stage. "The range of Ken's performance is enormous. He is able to lead the audience from sympathy for him through to terror of his actions." Casting Francesca Annis as Val, Nickie Dryden's journalist wife who is forced to confront her own liberal views in a way she could never have imagined, Neilson praises the actress for the emotional truth her character embodies. "The role of Val is a thankless one. The women in the film are really the collateral damage in this squabble between two men. A lesser actress may have tried to make the character more likeable but less understandable, but Francesca was able to stay true to Val through her terrible journey." Originally Neilson had intended to cast a less experienced actor in the role of Flipper, whom he describes as "a wee nutter", thinking that this rawness would give the character more edge. "But Iain Robertson proved to be the best possible choice. He's dedicated and prepared to make suggestions and try any ideas." As the role was written, Neilson admits that this character has least depth for an actor to latch onto. "But, on screen, the audience will find sympathy for him. That comes solely from Iain's performance and the layers he has added to the character." the cast Billy Connolly has lately devoted more time to acting, and is now offered many roles, especially north of the border. Approached in Los Angeles by producer Broadbent he was instantly attracted to THE DEBT COLLECTOR. "I recognise something in Dryden. Although I'm not from a criminal background I am from the working classes and I understand the pleasure he takes in being praised by people he would originally have considered "above him" in education and wealth." says Connolly. In the Seventies, one of Scotland's prisons opened a Special Unit for violent offenders. There the prisoners were offered various introductions to the arts. One of the disciplines was sculpture and Connolly points out the success of the experiment. "I've met some of these guys and they say that, when they found something to channel their energy into they became engrossed, and some of them, like Jimmy Boyle and Hugh Collins, became very good at it in a short space of time." Although similarities may be drawn between the early life of Dryden and some of the Special Unit's former inmates, the story of THE DEBT COLLECTOR is fiction. "Really, it's about how he adjusts and tries to enjoy his new life. He has a family and comfort he never knew before. His wife brings out the best in him and tries to reassure him that he deserves this success." explains Connolly. "But out there is Keltie, determined that nobody should believe in his rehabilitation. And, although Dryden loves his new life, his family, his recognition, he enjoyed his life in the old days. He liked being good at what he did - debt collecting as a hard man." Connolly firmly believes that criminals can be rehabilitated. "But," he says, "like junkies, you have to take them out of the environment that made them criminals in the first place. And that is what has happened to Dryden. Val has given him a world that is completely different from his previous life, and he enjoys it, so he flourishes." Before meeting with Anthony Neilson, Connolly was wary of working with a director who was also the writer. "It is so dull and restricting to work with someone to whom every comma is sacred, but Anthony shows no signs of that. Because he has worked in the theatre, he likes to work with actors one on one and then make up the ensemble. That's good for me. I respond well to direction, if I believe in it." He does add a word of warning to fellow actors. In addition to the maxim never work with dogs and children, Connolly adds a word of warning about Chinese meals. "Trying to deliver lines and look natural using chopsticks is bad enough, but when you have to clean the spinach off your teeth in the middle of a take, it really does detract from the moment. And who added deep fried seaweed to the scene?" That the script is not a comedy was also an attraction to Connolly. "Filming a comedy is a nightmare. The lines become less funny the more takes you do, so your energy flags. I've realised the only way to film comedy is to change the crew between takes to that somebody is still laughing at the end!" Says Connolly, "What is splendid about this script is that it takes no sides. At the end you ask yourself, who was "the debt collector"? Which of the characters is captive and who is now free? Can people ever be rehabilitated, and should they ever be forgiven their crimes? I don't have the answers, but the questions need to be asked." Ken Stott read the script and was impressed by the writing. "I couldn't put it down until I got to the end, so I knew it was a part I had to play." Stott has sympathy for his character Keltie, seeing him as a good man who finds himself overcome by disappointment in his own life and the society he lives in. "The high point of Keltie's career was going undercover for the job that put the infamous Nickie Dryden away for murder. Years later, he has become a bit of a joke. He's a self made man from a poor background, just like Nickie Dryden, but he finds himself in a police force that has been taken over by college graduates. And as he feels a failure, Dryden becomes a success; hailed as a brilliant sculptor; married to a beautiful woman and the toast of Edinburgh society." Stott thinks the audience will sympathise with Keltie. "The audience will realise that Dryden has got smart and Keltie has gone astray. His obsession grows in direct relationship to the frustration he feels at having failed to protect his own community from crime and Dryden becomes the focus of everything that has gone wrong." To Stott the script is a Greek tragedy acted out on film, with characters unknowingly rushing headlong towards each other for a bloody confrontation. "It's written so well that you cannot apportion blame and the audience will be torn from scene to scene as to whether they empathise with Keltie or with Dryden. Dryden is not squeaky clean, but he doesn't deserve the ferocious attention he gets from Keltie. By attacking Val, Dryden's wife, Keltie is subconsciously mirroring Dryden's "policy", the very thing he despises most about the murderer's past." explains Stott. Praising Anthony Neilson, Stott adds, "It is surprising to think that he is a first time feature director. He is very calm and healthily irreverent towards his own text: although it is so well written that there is seldom need to change it. " Francesca Annis was attracted to the script because she found it "a good tight read". As an actress, playing the role of Val was emotionally stretching. "She's a woman who, at the beginning of the story, is in control. She's middle class, university educated and considers herself a liberal. She's attracted to Dryden because she thinks she knows the man behind the lurid story; she thinks she can support him and encourage him and she believes everyone deserves a chance to change." says Annis. But the arrival of Keltie provokes an unwelcome change in Val's life. He forces her to realise that maybe she doesn't know everything about Dryden. When her own family is touched by violence, she realises she had no idea of the effect of Dryden's criminal activities at first hand, and begins to judge him as a stranger might. On a daily basis, Annis found the emotional depths of the drama required the steady hand of a director. "Anthony is very clear and concise about what he wants from a scene, but is prepared to listen to others, even if he later rejects the ideas. For the actors playing these roles he provided the right touch." Iain Robertson, in what he considers to be his first adult role, relished playing the part of Flipper. "He's typical of kids that bully in school - not that bright and often abused at home, so they have the need to prove themselves with anyone they think could be weaker. As an actor it's hard to make an audience sympathise with someone as nasty as Flipper, but you have to make them understand that, like Dryden, if he was given a chance, maybe he could do better. " The script appealed to Iain because "It's a good story. It raises questions, but it never tries to preach." Playing opposite Billy Connolly was a long held ambition realised. "In a way my feelings about Billy reflect Flipper's relationship with Dryden. I've always looked on Billy as an example to follow. When I was wee and everyone laughed at me because I wanted to go on the stage, I had Billy as an example of a Scotsman who went out into the world and became famous. Then when I went to secondary school, it turned out to be Billy's old school, so I was convinced there was a connection." H
- Broadcaster:Channel 4
- Collection: Channel 4
- Producer:Dragon Pictures Ltd.
- Transmission Date:26/05/2001
- Decade: 2000s