magnuslhad I sought this film out when it came up in conversation recently and I mentioned I had never heard of it. I should have realised there is a reason why you never hear of such films. Billy Connolly is Nickie Dryden, a poorly-disguised Jimmy Boyle, a notorious ex-con who has re-invented himself as a sculptor and married a classy, educated beauty, a woman who society suspects is indulging in a bit of rough. As Dryden's artistic career peaks, the cop who put him away emerges looking for vengeance. Ken Stott as the righteous police officer Keltie is mis-cast, lacking the physical menace or darker shades the character's descent into madness requires. Connolly looks uncomfortable in every scene, most of all in a bizarre climax at the Tattoo where he has a staring contest with a little girl. At this point Dryden is supposedly filled with angst after giving in to his long suppressed rage, but Connolly looks like he has just told a particularly good joke on Parkinson. The camera seems to pan and zoom randomly with no sense of directorial vision. The whole film is blanketed in plinky-plonk BGM that is impossible to ignore. Francesca Annis tries hard, but her character's dilemma, that she only now realises the vicious thug she married was, in fact, once a vicious thug, makes no sense. Iain Robertson does a wonderful job as Flipper, a psychopath ned who is a wannabe Dryden, but the script and direction overpower his efforts with their mediocrity. In short, this is an astonishingly poor film.

rogertaylor1947 This could have been a great film as the four protagonists each put in a strong performance especially Francesca Annis who is brilliant.It attempts to be a serious examination about whether a man's abhorrent violent past can ever be forgiven by his victims and whether those who take their duty to serve to protect seriously, like the police officer Gary Keltie,(Ken Stott) (who had been instrumental in taking him off the streets some 18 years ago) who don't believe Nickie Dryden (Billy Connolly) is a changed man. Haunting all those directly involved are the harrowing past images of the torture and mayhem he inflicted on his victims.The film makes a well made contrast between those who can easily forgive because it is but a remote experience which happened to others of which they know little and those who have suffered either as victims or as those who were emotionally related to those victims. To the Edinburgh arty literati he had paid his price according to the official judicial system by serving a long jail sentence for murder and by appearing reformed through his talent developed in prison which squares his past and placates their easy conscience to forgive. Their easy forgiveness is contrasted to those who actually suffered whose still open wounds are articulated by the police detective Keltie character. The scepticism and disbelief of these silent witnesses is passionately articulated by the Gary Keltie,(Ken Stott)character.It is unusual for a film to show so clearly this demarcation and divergence between the two views depending on where you are standing. Objectivity and forgiveness is easy if you are not a victim yourself and this is wonderfully brought out later in the film when one of those to whom he is now close but to whom past is another country has to live through the same torments when someone dear to them is murdered in a similarly bloody and brutal way to that by which Nickie Dryden had dispatched his earlier victim for which he had served his 18 years. Despite all the fancy surroundings which Dryden's talent and infamy combined have brought him, including his very "uptown girl" writer wife Val, played by Francesca Annis (who Keltie believes is partly attracted by the aura of his past infamy) Keltie believes him to be a fake: as also interestingly does the wannabe thug Flipper (Iain Robertson) who hero worships Dryden's past image.If it had stuck to portraying in a more realistic way the central theme of which, if either, of the 3 views (1) whether or not Dryden's debt "to society" is repaid by serving the officially sanctioned sentence and coming out a seemingly reformed character and accepted in official society or (2) whether he really is faking at being a changed man and (3) whether his debt can ever repaid and forgiven by his real victims (or those close to them) and those whose job it is to protect them, then this would have been a great film.As it is where it all falls apart into disbelief are several volcanic graphic, outrageous, completely over the top scenes, where the Gary Keltie,(Ken Stott) character himself commits violent acts which go way beyond angst and disbelief over demonstrating to himself and those he seeks to protect, that Nickie Dryden (Billy Connolly) can ever be anything but the psychopath he knew and put away. The only purpose of two of these scenes, the one at the art gallery and the other at a wedding that I can think of is that it contrasts the real difficulty which those who were or witnessed at 1st hand his victims suffering have in forgiving someone who harmed them with those to whom the remote experience of his perpetrated violence means very little. The 3rd scene is just so ridiculous and outrageous as it descends from an advocacy by Keltie by public challenges to the legitimacy of official forgiveness to that of private and personal revenge thereby descending to the similar level of depravity as the criminals whose behaviour he hates so much.The script seems to be saying that by Keltie being unable to contemplate a reformed perpetrator he sets in motion his own destruction being unable to shake off his "lifer" grudge against Dryden.I find it difficult for even the most conscientious detective, 18 years on, to be so obsessed to the point of near insanity with one particular past criminal given the number of hard cases he would have come across in the meantime especially one who is no longer trying to reestablish himself on old stomping grounds (literally) that he would jeopardise not only his career but put his life on the line to pursue a current non-criminal even if he is completely convinced that Nickie Dryden is a fraud.

paolo_piponi Great character story. No good guys and no bad guys, just human beings. Yes, we find it difficult to sympathise with any of them, but then it's not supposed to be an emotional story, just a series of character sketches. Connolly did not give a great performance and in many scenes where others might survive a close-up we see his head drop out of view (what's he hiding - lack of ability perhaps?). However, I would recommend it to anyone who likes sombre tales about ex-cons who do or don't make it. I'd like to see a remake with De Niro and Pacino - although I think they've already done it. What's it called?

zenya I have just seen this movie and thought I should make a comment on it. The performances by Billy Connolly and Ken Stott deserve accolades,Connolly is just as good as he was in Mrs.Brown,playing a man who after spending years in jail is determined to go straight. Newcomer Iain Robertson also gives a very good performance as a gangster wannabee. This film is a must see movie for Connolly fans,and just for people who like to watch a good quality movie.