Shallow Grave

 

 

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What will happen when three affluent and professional friends and flatmates,a journalist,a doctor and a chartered accountant,find a corpse and a suitcase full of money? What choices will confront these educated and intelligent people and what are the consequences of their choice?
This is the story of Shallow Grave, the debut long feature of Brit Danny Boyle, and the first of his many collaborations with writer Dr John Hodge (MD not PHD).
More specifically,it is the story of two men,Ewan McGregor and Chris Eccleston and a woman, Kerry Fox who share a flat and a friendship that is obviously harmonious.Deciding to let a fourth room in their large flat,they begin to interview likely candidates with an air of haughty antagonism and playful sarcasm,until Mr Keith Allen himself drops by, mysterious but with ready cash and moves in.
Yet their new roommate's life is quite short, and he is discovered dead, but with a lot of cash. The money of a man who came out of nowhere, had no visitors and apparently will not be missed too soon, is quite tempting to keep. This is the dilemma the three friends faced in a very tense moment that pierced right through their conscience.
In John Boorman's Excalibur, Merlin the magician, granting the wish of a knight to change his appearance into another for carnal reasons,says in a memorable quote ' The future has taken root in the present'.
This is exactly what happened in Shallow Grave the very second our heroes decided to keep the money, depose of the body (in parts, a task that traumatized them), and live happily ever after.So they thought!
How wrong they were, for crossing the threshold of their moral and ethical obligations towards their dead roommate,will forever change their lives and they will pay dearly for it.
Greed will inevitably be the driving force that will govern their lives and relationship from then on,pull them apart,reduce them from highly respectable members of the society to frightened and paranoid ,even pathetic creatures, that live mainly by their instincts.
Of course no one is truly mysterious and although we really do not know who really was the character of Keith Allen and where is the source of that money, we do get an idea that his line of work did not involve paying taxes, and two of his not so nice chums soon enough,looking desperately for him, find their way to the flat, obviously not thinking of tea and scones.But they are murdered and deposed of.
These bodies soon resurface (no crime is perfect as the cliche goes)and this will wet the appetite of the subtley clever police, with the chief inspector and his detective (played by John Hodge himself) who rightly suspect foul play.
All this lead to a tragic end, that was in a way inevitable the moment the lure of cash (even for people who really do not need it) turned into a possessive demon. It is a frightening thought of course, because no matter how much we claim superior moral ground and are indignant, we can never anticipate the choice we will make, facing a similar situation.
This makes Shallow Grave a little gem of a movie, a product of talented group of friends (and not of the studio machine)who contributed their effort to give us a film that is quite original and with a message that is as old but poignant as life itself. It is about the consequence of our choices, and the path it will take us once we cross that threshold.

Three obnoxious flatmates put scores of potential tenants through their paces before selecting a fourth resident for their humble hipster abode. Soon he is dead from a (self-inflicted) drug overdose but he left behind wads of cash that they want. Now to dispose of him and carry on!!!

They draw straws of who will actually dismember and bury him. It is gross!!! This division plus the knowledge of their horrifying secret slowly tears the flatmates apart. It is an interesting process to watch -- particularly when one moves into the attic and drills holes into the ceiling to spy on the two he left downstairs (shudder!!!!)

its British and its awesome. Ewen McGregor is the best in this and he offers a character that is fun to watch. Christopher Eccelston's nose is the gem also, and he has a slight resemblense to my friend Marcus, sorry MArcus but its true and Kerry Fox is hot, hot, hot.a great paranoia film with a lot of body cutting up and Danny Boyle( A Life Less Ordinary, 28 Days Later, The Beach adn Trainspotting) is a great director. the end where Eccelston gets the nife in the neck and McGRegor tricks Fox into thinking she has the money, just great

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3.0 out of 5 stars Passafist Reviews Shallow Grave
SHALLOW GRAVE is the kind of movie you really want to love. I think I would have if I had never seen FARGO. Read more

Published on Jun 17 2003

5.0 out of 5 stars A very good movie.
Nice film here. Not for the main stream but... A well set up story thats fun to watch,it features great character development combined with a really good ending. Read more

Published on May 14 2003

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant!!!!
This was my third Ewan experience, and I must say, the most satisfying. Watch this with "Trainspotting" and "Moulin Rouge" and discover what all true Ewan Mcgregor fans already... Read more

Published on Feb 26 2003 by Charity

5.0 out of 5 stars Very clever!
This was my first Ewan McGregor/Danny Boyle film... and I LOVED every second of it. The story is amusing, gripping, attention-grabbing and more; all of it is very Hitchcock-esque... Read more

Published on Jan 2 2003 by A. Richards

4.0 out of 5 stars Scifi Shallow Grave
They sould put this on scifi and let a grow-up watch it with you I did't. I went O, my god no away he did that. Read more

Published on July 20 2002 by Lisa Houghtaling

4.0 out of 5 stars Descent into murderous paranoia
This was the first of the Boyle/McDonald/Hodge/McGregor filmic collaborations and what a fantastic debut! Read more

Published on Jun 23 2002 by C. J. Hormann

4.0 out of 5 stars Too funny
If you liked Trainspotting and Run Lola Run this movie is definitely for you. It's got a really fast pace, good beat and an interesting and twisty plot. Read more

Published on April 19 2002 by infatuationjunkie

4.0 out of 5 stars "How to Cash In on an Empty Room......."
Suppose you and your mates had a spare room to rent and found just the right guy [or gal for that matter]to move in. Read more

Published on Feb 18 2002

5.0 out of 5 stars Rarely do I give a movie 5 Stars
'Shallow Grave' will surprise you. At first, you might think 'what's all the fuss about', but when the movie starts developing it will steal all of your attention. Read more

Published on Feb 15 2002 by William

4.0 out of 5 stars Ewan, as usual, is the attraction.
Similar to other reviews here, I bought the dvd for the chance to stare at Ewan McGregor a little bit more (I can't seem to get enough of him these days). Read more

Published on Dec 11 2001

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