Rent Shallow Grave (1994)

Stunning Debut From Danny Boyle, Smart Thriller - Shallow Grave review by GI

Danny Boyle's first film and what a belter it is too. A British thriller with three flatmates Juliet (Kerry Fox), David (Christopher Eccleston) and Alex (Ewan McGregor) who all live in a spacious Edinburgh apartment. They are looking for a someone to join them as they have four bedrooms and eventually take on the enigmatic Hugo (Keith Allen). Unfortunately Hugo dies in his room leaving behind a suitcase stuffed with money. After much debate the three decide to keep the money and dispose of Hugo's body. A fateful decision as soon some nasty thugs come looking for the money and the friends begin to fall out especially David who is the most affected by their actions. A serious film but with distinctive dark comic undertones exploring the moral dilemma of whether to keep a life changing amount of money but by doing so means committing a horrendous criminal act first. The narrative never lets you know how things will turn out as the three friends change allegiances as circumstances unfold. The film is chillingly sinister but also smart, stylish and very original. All the performances are superb including Ken Stott as a nosy police detective and this is a film that shows just how good independent cinema can be. A must see film.

One of the greatest debuts of all time. A total out-and-out masterpiece in every way - Shallow Grave review by Timmy B

This is and always will be one of my top 10 films. It's impact on film cannot be overstated. Made on a shoe-string budget, it introduced us to the incredible acting talents of Ewan McGregor & the masterful direction of Danny Boyle. It's success (the most commercially successful British film of 1995, as well as it's impressive theatrical run in the US,) led to Trainspotting a year later.

Alex, Juliette & David are 3 lively & bohemian flatmates who live in central Scotland. They advertise for an additional flatmate, partly to help with the living costs but also the opportunity to be able to ridicule the multiple people who apply for their own amusement. After successfully passing their initiation Hugo, an enigmatic & mysterious writer moves in. A couple of days later, after failing to appear/ignoring their efforts to rouse him, the 3 flatmates break down his door to find him dead from a drug overdose... along with a suitcase full of money. There then follows a cat and mouse game as the three choose to keep the money & dispose of the body, exposing themselves to the police investigation, as well as the attention of some brutal thugs intent on retrieving it...

Everything about this film is flawless: the pacing, music, tension, humour, script & performances. It is one of the best British films of all time. I love it and it gets better with every watch. It also proves emphatically that even with a tiny budget & serious financing issues (at one point the money ran out, causing the production to auction off bits of the set to buy film stock,) you can create incredible drama.

Rent this & see just how incredible British film can be.

P.S: as a little side-note & bit of trivia for fans of Trainspotting: according to Danny Boyle, Keith Allen's characters in both films are the same person...

Scottish Darwinism - Shallow Grave review by Steve

Dazzling black comedy/neo-noir/parable about three supercilious young professionals who share a highly desirable apartment in Edinburgh and elect to keep a suitcase of hot money left behind when a mysterious new lodger overdoses... Which sounds like a pitch for a high concept 20th Century update of a medieval morality play... 

So the plot is derivative, but it’s shot with plenty of élan by Danny Boyle from a fast, funny, cynical script by John Hodge. Christopher Eccleston, Kerry Fox and Ewan McGregor share exceptional chemistry as the trio of borderline sociopaths who soon regret their good fortune... and then turn on each other in a bloody fight for survival.

There's an ultra-polished surface- this is cinéma du look, Scottish style- but it also drills into the state of the nation in the greed-is-good decade; which hasn't dated a minute! Britain has been made-over by the Thatcher economic revolution, so maybe there's a joke in the real hardcore nutter of the residents being an accountant (Eccleston).

The three anti-heroes are utterly unsympathetic; who isn't pleased to see McGregor's blasé junior reporter take a kicking in the hotel toilets? And the class friction may be why US critics just didn't get it. This was a calling card for many of the cast and crew, yet it's still the best film of everyone involved. And one of the classics of UK cinema.