Letters from the Big Man

This film contains strong language

and prolonged violent scenes.

Right. Eh... my wife and I...

My wife and I would like

to thank you all -

my parents, who feel

they're not so much losing a son

as losing a liability.

APPLAUSE:

If we'd been a tribe

of Cherokee Indians,

well, with names like

Running Bear and Running Water,

the only name for me would

have been Running Sore.

APPLAUSE:

But anyway, my wife and I...

CLANGING GLASSES AND APPLAUSE

Come on! Hey, hey, hey!

Yes, we've got it.

We've got it. Thank you, son.

Over here through midfield.

Yes! And Mrs Scoular...

Yeah! And again!

I've got it.

Scoular gets the ball.

He turns. He shoots!

Yeah!

Put me down!

Bastards!

..up the hill on the left.

Where? Up that way?

There's another way up there?

OK. See you.

Are yous back already?

Oh, caught me at it. I cannae stop

myself! It's a compulsion.

How's that?

Good.

That's fine.

Driving a delivery van. Jesus.

It's a job.

Look, it's only an interview.

Right. Done the washing

and the ironing and the cleaning

and the tidying, scrubbed the floors

and reslated the roof.

Thank you.

And the bin's out for the bin men,

removed the wisdom tooth -

the one at the back.

Slashed my wrists - twice.

And now I've just got to drop off

the Christmas Club money at Wally's.

Back before closing time?

Aye, before closing time. Are you

really going to get a job, Dad?

Wait and see, pet.

Will it be far away?

Maybe. Who's going to play

football with me, then?

I am! Come on. Where's the ball?

Last out's a big jessie!

Yes!

Yeah! Yeah, all right!

Who's in goals?

I am, I suppose. You're still wearing

your best shoes! Come on, then!

Danny! We need

a new as centre-forward.

Go on, Danny. Kids, come on, then.

Go in and change.

You ready? Born ready.

Good evening, gentlemen.

I hope you're both alcoholics.

Gin and tonic, pint of heavy.

OK, boy. OK.

Good evening, Wally. Hi, Danny.

It's not a bad night.

Aye, it's not bad.

That's what I'm saying, Alan.

Alan, if Thornbank was worth

fighting for during the strike,

it's worth fighting for now.

The struggle goes on.

Hi, lads. Hi, Danny.

Do you understand what

I'm saying here, Alan?

Sam, lads.

I'm just an ordinary barman, Vince.

My thanks to you as an

astute political activist.

You all right, Danny? Vince.

Coal miners in the eastern bloc

are asking why we lost the strike.

Look, the great British

miners' strike of 1984.

Want to know what we did right,

what we did wrong. We got beat.

That's a hard enough lesson to

learn. That's what I'm saying, Sam.

This country knows how to shelve

democracy as well as the next.

Next time we crack their skulls

before they crack ours.

Tell that to the scabs.

Frankie! Alan, a pint

of heavy for my big pal here.

Are you feeling all right, Frankie?

Nae problem, Danny.

I just got back from New York,

as it happens. Your mother said.

A wee bit of business -

flight paid for. Yourself?

Interview for a job tomorrow -

van driver.

Van driver!

Beth wants me to go.

Give me a minute, will you, Dan?

Bursting.

Hey, Danny, here's your paper.

Saved you one.

Vince, you talk a lot of shite.

So that's your man?

That's him, Mr Mason,

a man of principle - the best.

Mmm. Seems a bit lost in himself.

Wouldn't you be - ten months

on strike, six months in jail?

Jail? For what?

Grievous bodily harm.

He hit a policeman in the head.

Where's the grief in that, eh?

But he's blacklisted now.

He's a marked man.

Even if the mine was to open

tomorrow, he wouldn't get a job.

I tell you, Mr Mason, he's all yours.

What makes you so sure?

Money.

His wife supports him.

So what makes him stay

in this shite hole?

Well, this place is all he's got.

People here remember who he was.

A loser. Oh, no, Mr Mason - one

thing about Danny Scoular - he only

fights for what he believes in.

He'll not back down.

The big man,

proud in victory, glorious in defeat.

Mmm. Not so glorious now, eh?

We were fighting for a better future.

I think we should

feel good about that.

A pint of heavy.

We have to keep thinking.

We have to show those

gangster politicians that we will NO bend over and have our arses kicked.

You talk sh*t!

I've got my opinions, pal.

I said shut up.

Open your mouth again,

I'll fill it with a glass. Hey.

Yes. Can I help you?

The boy's just talking.

Not anymore, he's not.

And who are you, you streak of piss?

You his daddy come to wipe his arse?

Alan doesn't like fights

inside his pub.

Yeah! Yeah!

SHOUTS OF ENCOURAGEMEN Go, Danny! That f***ing bastard.

Go Danny!

He's a f***ing loser, Danny.

Gaun yersel', Danny!

Go on, Danny!

That's how we beat them round here -

straight in and no messing,

just like the strike.

A fighter for principle,

the kind you cannot buy.

Everybody gets a drink on me!

A word with you, sir.

Go on, Billy. Mush. Mush.

And there he goes!

HE HUMS:

# Dee dee-dee dee... # Bingo!

My favourite girl -

you should be in your bed.

This is a 50 note.

Where did you get it?

Not bad for one night's work, eh?

All right, Beth? Look.

It's flying away!

Work?

A bet - it must have been a bet.

An advance. An advance.

I'm earning it. Like a job?

A job.

And more where that came from.

This is a lot of money, Danny.

A lot of money.

Now tell me where you got it. Right.

There's this gentleman, Mr Mason.

Matt Mason. He's from Glasgow.

Who is he?

A businessman. A friend of Frankie's.

What's a proper businessman

doing with Frankie White?

Mr Mason's a wealthy man. Beth, you

could take him home to your mother.

Owns a string of betting shops.

A bookie?!

Respectable. Owns racehorses.

You're too old to believe

in Santa Claus, Danny.

Just what sort of job is it?

Oh, for Christ's sake, Beth.

It's money, isn't it? Van driving

doesn't make this kind of money.

OK.

So you don't want to drive a van.

Fine. No problem.

But what are you going to do?

Ride a racehorse? Fight a man.

You mean hit someone?

Fight, fight a man. Who?

Don't know. You don't know?

It doesn't matter.

It's bare knuckles, right?

It's a bare-knuckle fight. Since when

were you a bare-knuckle fighter?

I can't sit here and wash

the children's underwear

for the rest of my life.

Why not? I work. I earn the money.

I've got a job!

Can you not think for just one

minute - think what you're doing?

Look, honey, listen.

All I'm going to do is get

into a bit of a scrap, right?

A playground scrap.

We can take this man

Mason's money and run.

Let's just pack up and go.

Go? Go where?

Anywhere. Sell up and move out.

Too late.

I said I'm doing it.

It's too late.

So you told the boys? Aye.

Booked their tickets.

Want to see some blood - people pay

good money for that, you know.

You don't have to do this, Danny.

I want to do it.

I won't go through it all again.

I won't.

I'm not going to sit here with

the kids while you're in jail

or hospital or God knows where.

I won't, no.

No.

You always have to be

the big man, don't you?

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