User Reviews

Still a decent film that has managed to defy the years. Some excellent acting, in particular from Ecclestone. A good story, although there are holes in the plot. All in all, I'd watch it again.

It's just... **** more. no more. It's just... **** more. no more.

A slick, and at times violent neo-noir debut from Boyle is this thriller based around one almighty moral dilemma. Worth checking out.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Modest mixture of black comedy and thriller that put Danny Boyle and Ewan Mc Gregor on the map. With some taste of Hitchcock, the story of three roommates who spoil themselves the fellowship via the untrust and the greed works so fine. Check it a friday evening.

The story is literally thrilling and very well done from its time from Danny Boyle as his first feature. Great dialogue, but it is not as popular as the Pulp Fiction (1994) dialogue but it has great lines and what it suggests in this film. The cinematography is very well done especially the opening where the camera goes through the Edinburgh streets. This suggests the city is all the same rather than what it is going to be when we follow on with the trio. The music is superb, the Simon Boswell piano theme is well suited and also suits for the horror genre, I don't really find this as a standard black comedy thriller, it is something like it is ripped off from Coen Brother's Blood Simple, with more of less funny dialogue but I find this a perfect thriller and quite known for its time and still is today because of Channel 4 which is now a popular channel with many sub-channels. I highly recommend this film. Brilliant film.

Killing and dismembering a person changes people, as does coming into a lot of money in one fortunate stroke of luck. Danny Boyle's directorial debut Shallow Grave explores just how much one changes when a trio of friends stumble a dead roommate and a suitcase full of cash, only to then wind up in the crosshairs of the cops and gangsters that are closing in fast. Driven to insanity, this black comedy crime film features some of Boyle's trademark fast-paced action and music, but does feel like a debut film. It really does not distinguish itself too much from other crime films at the time and is pretty thinly plotted. That said, the film is incredibly entertaining, well acted, and showed incredible promise for Boyle. The star here though is Christopher Eccleston. A reserved, innocent, and dorky accountant, his David is brilliant. Driven over the edge after he and his friends find the body and the cash, his change is spurred on by being the guy charged with burying and dismembering the body. He is unable to cope with what he has done and the added stress on his psyche, being driven into madness. Holing up in the attic and frightening both Juliet (Kerry Fox) and Alex (Ewan McGregor), Eccleston plays an unhinged psychotic incredibly well. He really steals the show here and provides a performance that anchors the film incredibly well. One could argue that this is another film about average working men revolting against their boring jobs, even if David does find some enjoyment out of being an accountant. However, even his boss says that accountants are boring. Therefore, it is essentially his revolt against the monotonous life he leads as a timid, reserved people. Killing unleashes his wild side and gives him a shot of adrenaline like no other and it is one that is highly addictive. Alongside him, Ewan McGregor and Kerry Fox turn in good performances as well in the film that is noteworthy for launching McGregor's career. Both are solid as more straight-laced characters compared to the unhinged Eccleston. That said, they both are punished violently for their actions in the film with helping with the burying of the bodies. The two of them really do bring the film back to Earth a bit, but their best scene definitely comes as they become more unhinged as well at the end. Out for themselves, the film reaches a very dark comedic finale with terrifically maniacal acting on the part of Fox and McGregor in the closing sequence. That said, the only part that truly feels like Boyle is the opening. With fast-paced music and the cruelly interviewing potential new flatmates while mocking them openly, the quick cuts and general pace feel like Boyle. It is in this opening that he really found his style and it is a shame to see the rest of the film be far more reserved and less indulgent of the typical kinetic nature of his work. The end result is a film that simply feels less polished and stylish than we have become accustomed to from the British director. But, what he does manage to do incredibly well is make the film feel alive. The material is quite derivative at times, especially when with some influence with the Coen brothers' love of having characters steal or fall into a briefcase of money, only to lose it at the end and nobody gets the money. Boyle's film feels similar at times in that regard as he finds comedy in odd places and makes the derivative plot feel fresh and new. Though we know it is not, Boyle's approach is always compelling and distracts from the predictable nature of the storyline. Tarantino's Pulp Fiction is a good comparison, though less self-indulgent than that film and it does also feel a bit more unpolished and hesitant. This is a by-product of it being Boyle's debut, albeit one that hinted at the great things to come. A largely quite predictable and derivative black comedy crime film, Shallow Grave has that "familiar-yet-fresh" feel of many 1990s crime films. With terrific acting and good direction, Shallow Grave hits a sweet spot and is richly entertaining, even if its lacks the cohesion needed to be a very good or great film.

WHAT I LIKED: The entirety of 'Shallow Grave' drives for the darkest possible humour, and rather surprisingly it often lands. This is particularly the case in the slightly-more-subtle first half where great performances from this stellar crew shine through far more strongly. WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: Unfortunately you're left thinking things have gone a bit too far as it goes on because everything spirals out of control, even though very little actually occurs to get you invested. By the end the plot and humour is so off track that it struggles to make any sort of narrative sense at all. Payoff? A disappointing ending with a weak thematic through-line to match. VERDICT: There's no doubt Boyle is an able film-maker, but his efforts here are by no means his best. Shallow Grave largely dissapoints.

Blighty’s new wave of knock-’em-dead filmers has a banner to march under with “Shallow Grave,” a tar-black comedy that zings along on a wave of visual and scripting inventiveness. Film Four Intl. looks set to rack up healthy sales on this first feature of English TV director Danny Boyle, which will delight buff audiences and has the potential to break out into wider markets, too. Reaction at its world preem screening in the Cannes market was hot, with many questioning why pic wasn’t in any of the fest’s sections, despite having been submitted for both competition and Directors Fortnight. Main surprise is that “Grave” manages to sustain its oddball humor and theatrical style without depending on non-stop eye-whacking tricks. First script by Glasgow-based doctor John Hodge (who cameos as a cop) keeps springing surprises until the final shot, and Boyle’s direction, though often hyper, manages to serve up an intelligent movie without sacrificing narrative drive or reducing the actors to characterless pawns. Story, set in modern-day Scotland, revolves around a trio of unlikely friends sharing a spacious top-floor apartment. Juliet (Kerry Fox) is a seemingly levelheaded nurse, David (Christopher Eccleston) is a studiously boring accountant in a stuffy firmand Alex (Ewan McGregor) is a wild-side journalist on a local rag. From their first appearance, grilling applicants for a fourth lodger, it’s clear they’ve all got several screws loose. The lodger problem is solved when Juliet takes a shine to the rough-looking, mysterious Hugo (Keith Allen, the psycho in “Beyond Bedlam”), who soon takes up residence. A short time later, Hugo is found dead in bed, his drawer stuffed with drugs and a suitcase stuffed with money. After shilly-shallying over what to do, the trio decide to chop up the cadaver, bury the bits and keep the loot — a sequence that sets the tone for the pic’s several grisly comic set pieces. Finale in the apartment is a real tour de force of black humor, with multiple double-crosses and twists up to the final fadeout. Boyle’s background in theater before moving over to TV (“Inspector Morse”) shows in the pic’s exaggerated but actorly approach. In look and feel, however, this is pure moviemaking, with a seamless blend of production design, music, editing, sound and lensing. Buffs will note stylistic parallels to the Coen brothers’ early pix, especially “Raising Arizona,” but there’s a trove of others for those wanting to make connections. (Cinephiles can also dine on the fact that producer Andrew Macdonald is related to Emeric Pressburger.) Playing and casting are strong down the line. Of the central trio, Kiwi actress Fox rates special praise for her disarming portrayal of everyday madness. Among the tiptop behind-the-camera credits, production designer Kave Quinn’s superb set of the off-center apartment is a constant delight, with its color-coded rooms and its play with light. Reported budget was a mere T1 million ($ 1.5 million), with every cent up on the screen.

Shallow Grave is a very well shot and acted movie from British director Danny Boyle. The cast is great with Ewen Mcgregor from Trainspotting. The plot is very clever and the movie has a nice **** feel to it. The story is unpredictable and it will become one of your favourite movies.

First serious movie by Danny Boyle. The actors are good, though the story is mostly predictable. The overall feel is like in other UK criminal-related movies. It was interesting to see the famous director's first full-length movie, but it was not as good as I expected.

It's nothing that hasn't been seen before. Friends are torn apart by greed after their flatmate dies and leaves a mysterious suitcase of money behind. What makes this film worth checking out is Danny Boyle's darkly comic approach to the material and Ewan McGregor's devilishly fun performance.

This movie goes on and on and on, and even if it is funny or very entertained sometimes, it just wasn't that good. Also is one of Danny Boyle's worst and i wanted more of this, a lot more of this

A slick, clever, well shot thriller. Almost everything about this film works, and works well. Danny Boyle, trÃs bien! The great sweeping shot that reveals just who was the quickest, is pure genius. Just great