User reviews

A great modern thriller containing all the necessary ingredients of a decent suspense story: constantly growing tension, sly humor, and genuinely surprising plot twists. It's kind of like a 90s version of a Hitchcock flick (think "Rope"), and like somebody here wrote, once you start watching it you can't stop.

The plot is deliciously wicked. Just how far are you going to go for money? Will you kill for it? Are you willing to share it? Will you give up your best friends for it? How insane will a large amount of cash drive you? And in the end, and this is the most important question "Shallow Grave" rises, will it make you happy?

If there was any more violence in this movie it would turn disgusting, but Danny Boyle knows how to measure it just right. Though he doesn't quite reach the virtuosity of "Trainspotting" here, his trademarks are all present: the fast pace, the urban background beats, the enthralling camera angles and so forth.

The three leads are all great, but there's no question about who the movie belongs to: Ewan McGregor is energetic, powerful and photogenic in his portrayal of a young journalist. No wonder he became such a star.

It's well performed with actors who would go onto greater things. The plot is pretty thin, insomuch as it has one. The most interesting and fascinating elements come through post viewing reflection, to consider what you would have done under these circumstances. The director is asking you to accept and believe the events that took place are plausible - are they? Or are they so implausible that the story becomes fantasy? If it's fantasy it's valueless, passing ninety minutes of your time and soon to be forgotten. If you can connect on a real world level then maybe you'll learn something about yourself you didn't know already - or at least choose to seldom acknowledge. Cinema is there to make you think and connect with the world in a different way and this film does just that for the most part.

This film opens with three hip, cynical young Scottish professionals, David, Juliet and Alex (Christopher Eccleston, Kerry Fox and Ewan McGregor)who are looking for a fourth to share their spacious flat. That they aren't very nice people is clear in the opening scenes. when they taunt and mock the hapless applicants with insults and absurd questions, it is a foreshadowing of future nastiness and some of the choices they make. Finally an older man who seems to be their match takes the room, then immediately up and dies on them--and leaves a suitcase full of money. Did the guy commit suicide? And if so, why? More than likely the money came from some ill-gotten source, so why not keep it? But first, his corpse, which is, as Alex puts it, starting to "go off and smell" must be dealt with, hence the title. Scotland is such a great setting for a horror thriller, it's a shame more of them aren't set there. These are the people who gave us Burke and Hare after all. Add to that all the stereotypes about Scottish people and money and it's a perfect set-up for this plot. The sexual tension among the three also adds a suspenseful twist. Ewan McGregor was even more heartbreakingly handsome in those days, long before he was a Jedi knight, but in spite of that, he does an amazing job playing a lout.

It may be my imagination, but Danny Boyle seems given to "Clockwork Orange" references here as he was in "Trainspotting" (Watch for the scene at the charity ball with Ewan McGregor on the floor with Fox's foot on his face. There are others.) Nothing wrong with that. And as with "Trainspotting", there are some flights of pure fantasy, though none as protracted as the toilet scene.

Though not heavy handedly, I think that this film, perhaps even more so than "Trainspotting" makes a pointed comment on the spiritual condition(empty) of young people in the nineties. These are very much films of their time--they could not have been made in an earlier time, and not just because of explicit drug and violence scenes.

Danny Boyle seemed like he was destined for directorial greatness before the surprise success of "Trainspotting" got to his head. His first two pictures, however, are wonderful. "Shallow Grave" is one of the best modern thrillers I have seen in a long time.

The story centers around three British roommates who are trying to rent the empty room in their flat out to another person. When they finally do find a man to rent the flat out to, he dies in his sleep, leaving behind a briefcase full of a whole lot of money. What to do?

Much like "Trainspotting" of a few years later, "Shallow Grave" has very dark comical undertones to it. Unlike "Trainspotting" however, it is a much more serious film. Like Sam Raimi's "A Simple Plan" of four years later, it explores a moral dilemma between three friends on what to in a situation when you find a lot of money that does not belong to you. Do you compromise your morals for the money or do you do the right thing? One is never quite sure how the story will turn out and as you approach the ending of the film, you are never quite sure which one of the three friends is more sinister than the next, which makes the twists in the last part of the film such a darkly hilarious and chilling delight.

Films like "Shallow Grave" are exactly what independent filmmaking is all about. It's a smart, sleek and stylish film made on a small budget, driven by a cleaver story and interesting characters. Ewan McGregor and Christopher Eccleston both give great performances in this film. `Shallow Grave' is miles better than any thriller Hollywood has come up with in the last 10-15 years (if not longer). I give it an 8 out of 10.

Good first feature film from director Danny Boyle and writer John Hodge. A good, solid thriller with a healthy dose of dark humor.

Interesting dynamic among the three principle characters, though their motivations toward each other could have been made more clear.

The age-old plot of ordinary people getting mixed up in an unexpected acquisition of dirty money and finding their worst tendencies coming to light is done with style and clever wit, with a couple of nice twists that I doubt anyone will see coming. (Although, I'm a little hazy on just HOW it ends up that way.)

Boyle is definitely one of the great, stand-out directors of the 90s-and-beyond crowd, in the upper ranks with Tarantino, Fincher, Ritchie, and a few others.

7/10 stars

I saw this film before "Trainspotting" came out, so I had no clue who this Ewan McGregor fellow was, or what sort of director Danny Boyle would turn out to be. "Shallow Grave" is a great enough film to have sealed the deal for me: I have sought out his work (and have, for the most part, loved it!) ever since.

You've already read vague bits about the plot, I'm sure, and I shan't give away any more than the basics - three roommates and best friends are inseparable until a suitcase full of money, found through some rather unpleasant circumstances (to say the least), causes not only friction and paranoia but also potential for violence, as they each struggle with their own morality over what to do. Do they call the cops and return the cash? Tell no-one what they had to do to keep it, and live the high life? It seems so simple in the beginning, boiled down to a single conversation over a kitchen table, but the complexities of that one decision soon become awfully clear. And as David (Eccleston) says at one point about a camcorder, bought as a new toy by his flatmates, "Yes, you PAID five hundred quid for it, but we don't know what the COST to US will be yet." Eerie foreshadowing, there. And that is where the fun...and fear...all begin.

What follows is a story that manages to ratchet up the tension at a furious pace. The whole film fits into just over 90 minutes, and it is very impressive to see how effectively the entire mood changes as these three roommates begin doubting each other, themselves, their neighbours, the police, and the occasional unfamiliar car parked outside their Edinburgh flat... The fun and hijinx for the trio (and for us, the audience) are brought to a screeching halt, and the rest of the film stays taut, never tipping its hand to let you know what might happen the next time someone comes to their door.

If you've seen and enjoyed Boyle's more recent works ("Millions," "28 Days Later," "Slumdog Millionaire," "127 Hours"...and especially "Trainspotting," as you'll see a LOT of familiar faces who got their start here), go back to this one to see where his true style came to be. It's no surprise at all that he's gone on to Oscar acclaim; he's clearly been building his craft and unique methods for some time. "Shallow Grave" is a fantastic noir-ish thriller, managing to be laugh-out-loud funny in places (the three leads are fabulous, particularly McGregor and Eccleston) and then turning very, very dark on you without warning.

And I must say...the ending alone is worth the ride. ;)

Shallow Grave is directed by Danny Boyle, the genius behind Trainspotting. Shallow Grave is about three friends, who live in the same apartment and try to study and work normally. They want to find one person to fill the room that is empty in their apartment, and soon they find the right one. However, one day something horrific happens and the friends find something very interesting in the new tenant's room. After this incident, their friendship starts to change and weird murders appear. I won't tell you more about the story as this must be seen without knowing too much about it. I hope others have not spoilt you and disturbed your viewing experience.

This film is about themes of friendship and greed and greed for money especially. Which one is more important, huge amount of money or a true friend? Ewan McGregor's voice at the end of the film tells us everything what the main character learned about life and these things throughout the film. This is pretty mean spirited and too much for others, because there are so many mean characters and some graphic and gory violence in Shallow Grave and everyone will not tolerate that. After all, this is very important film and gives us some difficult questions and something to think about. A human being can easily been seduced and once it has happened, everything the one has kept important may not be that anymore and the person's set of values has changed..

Technically Shallow Grave is very great and effectively scary. There are great camera movements and angles and weird ways to use camera. Music is okay but nothing too special, in my opinion. The atmosphere is pretty disturbing and this should have been enjoyed in the big screen. The real skills of this director are visible more completely in Trainspotting, a masterful drama about the world of drugs, also starring Ewan McGregor. The scenes in forest are especially spooky and as a horror thriller, Shallow Grave is very noteworthy.

There are, unfortunately, couple of scenes or characters' reactions, that I couldn't tolerate and that affects to the rating a little bit. The youngsters act sometimes stupidly and are too irritating. And the other fault in this film is that the clues for the gangsters to find these youngsters are not explained and all seems to happen too easily. But these are not too dangerous considering the great horror and cinematic elements of the film. I was waiting a little too much I think, because I had read many praising reviews about this film but still, I'm definitely not disappointed, even though the film could have been closer to perfection.

7/10

See, there's these three little piggies (Ewan McGregor, Kerry Fox and Christopher Eccleston) who live together as flatmates in Glasgow. The one thing that ties them together more than the genial contempt they have for one another, is the DOUBLE amount of contempt they have for everyone else. To take in extra rent money, they decide to let a spare room in their place. After having a lot of fun at the expense of many 'unsuitable' candidates, they decide to award the spot to a very dodgy looking character named Hugo, (Keith Allen), who has a shady demeanor and a rather large suitcase.

This situation is ripe for betrayal, deceit, coercion and oh, let's not leave out murder, shall we? It's dynamite with an unlit fuse, just missing a match. And that 'match' is finally struck when the three roommates find a nude Hugo dead the next morning in his room, and that in his mysterious suitcase is more cash than the three of them combined will make in a year.

Anybody hear a sizzling noise in the background? That's nothing. The explosion is coming, and it is a DOOZY! Director Danny Boyle and writer John Hodge certainly know their noir thrillers, and they skilfully weave the strands of this twisted story together like a Hitchcock chamber piece, filtered through the gimlet-eyed gaze of the Coen Brothers. With a Glaswegan accent, of course.

The acting is top notch, especially Ewan in his first major movie role. The realistic outcome of each nerve-wracking situation ratchets up the suspense and the tension without a single false note, as the 'straw' friendships of these three not-so-likable characters goes up in a puff of spontaneous combustion...all for, as the O'Jays put it so aptly, "the love of money."

And speaking of classic songs, a great director knows how to infuse a scene with just the right touch of irony, comedy or even downright horror, such as what Quentin Tarantino did with the confectionery pop standard from Stealer's Wheel, "Stuck In The Middle With You." I could tell from the word 'go' that Danny Boyle would be one artist to watch, just through the way he took a gooey retro classic like Andy Williams' "Happy Heart," and infused it with chillingly fitting gallows humor for GRAVE'S jaw-dropping ending, that will stay with you long after you've seen it...even after the second or third time! No matter how many times I watch it, it still hits me like a ton of...well, you know...

Highly recommended, with great scoring work from artists like Simon Boswell, Leftfield and Tomandandy.

Shallow Grave, the debut film from director Danny Boyle (also from his fellow producer and screenwriter from other films he made in the 90s), has a fatalistic edge to it, but where it will really go is anyone's guess. It's practically impossible to identify with these three main characters- Kerry Fox as Juliet, Christopher Eccleston as David, and Ewan McGregor as Alex- as they're all cynical and sarcastic to the bone, rarely sympathetic, and friends through and through. The latter part might be a little more recognizable in such a very easy kind of story for these characters, who after finding their new roommate dead in his room have to 'take care' of the situation. This becomes further complicated, both practically and morally, when a suitcase of money is found from the ex-roomer. This is at the core something of a simple dilemma kind of issue tale that could fit very easily onto a kid's show (minus all the death of course, as finding-money was also used in Boyle's film Millions). But Shallow Grave also happens to have the ingredients for a horror film as well as film-noir, tragedy as much as thriller, with bits of pitch-black comedy thrown in for good measure.

One of the cool, unnerving things about the film as well is how, after a while, you can't really be sure who's really sane or not. But even as it is a story of friends, it is more closer to being Eccleston's movie, as a character who goes through the darkest change out of the three of them. He starts out as the sanest of the uptight middle class three, or at least the most reasonable when the circumstances strike up. But through grisly turns of events, he becomes the most un-balanced of the bunch, and Boyle is able to get with his DP Brian Tufano some really powerful moments visually up in the attic. As further complications go on, it becomes not really a tale of morality but one of keeping a bond that is breaking always. But the psychological turns are made better, and not too circumspect or dumb, by the actors. In truth, some of what the characters decide and then go through is a bit too implausible even for a thematically violent film like this. But it's a fresh showcase for all three actors for their gifts- McGregor's Alex seems like a sociopath through most of the film, and his change doesn't make him more likable but still very intense by the acting. Eccleston has what should be one of the performances of his career as the mild-mannered and then loose-edged flat-mate. And Kerry Fox is good, if a little typical as the lady of the house. Her own role in the film is further complicated by lustful intentions and all that- she could be considered a femme fatale if it were that easy.

And Shallow Grave is, above all else, a very good film at style trumping the substance, which itself isn't that bad as being B-movie fare, to which he would put to best use with Trainspotting. Here I'm reminded of the cinematic freedom and inventiveness taken in such 'pulp' matter by first time filmmakers in the 90s, and even in the story's weakest points (and there are a few in due to logic and the dialog sometimes) it's never boring. There's a cringe/funny kind of scene with Alex and Juliet using some new merchandise for some lewd and f***ed up purposes, and it's filmed in a perfectly amateurish way. And in dealing with the more disturbing subject matter, it helps that Boyle and writer John Hodge only show what is necessary (i.e. some of the 'grave' scenes) so that it doesn't become stale or with that sort of kick needed for the material. By the end, too, as in other noir stories, there is a twist that comes, but it isn't even much expected as the characters have met their fates. But it has the advantage of not being a cop-out either. Shallow Grave is, when it comes down to it, that splendid of things- a directorial calling card that speaks to his skills with actors (more so in casting to a T), mixing comedy and drama, and hip use of camera-work. Nothing really 'deep' or great, but it's a nifty little midnight movie from merry old England. 8.5/10

Juliet Miller (Kerry Fox), David Stephens (Christopher Eccleston), and Alex Law (Ewan McGregor) are three flatmates looking for someone to rent the fourth room. They are all sarcastic, sharp-tongued, and generally mean-spirited. They agree on the charismatic Hugo (Keith Allen) but don't know his criminal activities. When they discover his dead body, they also find a suitcase full of money.

Before Danny Boyle's breakthrough movie 'Trainspotting', this is his first big screen debut. The leads are not likable. They are all unlikeable selfish untrustworthy jerks. It's dark. It has three amazing performances. And it has a great Hitchcockian style. It is sharp and brilliant. It has some funny moments especially as they skewer the roommate interviews. It builds up to great tension. It's just good dark fun.

From the get go, these three roommates show themselves to be bullies to other people, yet ordinary. Everything changes when their new flatmate ends up not only dead, but dead with a suitcase full of money.

Naturally a lot of people would be scared and go straight to the police. Especially since the suitcase is being hunted by extremely dangerous criminals. But instead, the three decide to keep the money and dispose of the body. How the body is disposed is grim, yet ultimately inneffective, and one person in the group is forced to do the lot after losing a bet.

The plot is very similar to the Donna Tarrt book The Secret History. Where a bunch of unlikable characters must deal with a death and disposable of a body. And subsequently the friendship falls apart in terrible ways, ending in irreversible consequences.

This is a grim, yet powerful debut from the great Danny Boyle. Stories such as the breakdown of friendships always fascinate me. If you can't trust your friends, well, what then?

I liked this when it came out but rewatching in 2021 I found it a strangely empty experience. From scene 1 on, I disliked all of the main characters. Stuck up young doctor, cold accountant and unspeakable jerk.. and all of them feeling just SO superior.. Each of them was repulsive in their own right. With no-one to root for I found the premise interesting but, as another reviewer has already stated, in a "who cares?" way. The best bit for me by far was Cameron's "moment"- because he was the only character for whom I felt any empathy at all.

Alex, David and Juliet share a flat together and are looking for a new flat mate to help fill the flat out. They see various applicants who don't fit until they meet the mysterious Hugo who is `interesting' and takes the room. Almost a week goes by and he doesn't come out of his room once, so they break down Hugo's door to find him dead with a suitcase full of money. To keep the money, they agree to destroy Hugo's body and draw straws to see who does the cutting. David ends up doing the deed but it affects him badly and he becomes increasingly erratic and paranoid. Meanwhile two criminals are dredging the underworld looking for the money.

Any film that can pose a moral question that stays with the audience is off to a good start and needs to build on it. That is the case here with the `would you keep the money' question - the answer being `yes' in terms of the characters here. The plot then sees the greed do what greed do best - feed paranoia and divisions between the characters. It's a theme that has been done before but is still well done here. The plot has weaknesses in logic and flow - David's paranoia doesn't totally go the way that seems most likely, rather the way that the film requires. Also the film doesn't build good characters. However what it does do well is turn up tension and drama very well - as the net closes and the characters start to turn on each other.

This is where the comparatively short running time helps - it keeps the whole thing from being onscreen too long to be analysed to death while you are watching it. I didn't question the weaknesses because I was caught up in the story. It has a good pace on it although it can't keep up the speed it set with it's stylish opening credits (which have been impersonated so often since). The final act is a fitting denouncement and, like I said, even if some of it doesn't totally scan the film moves along fast enough to cover it.

Despite the lack of really developed characters, the cast do really good jobs on the whole. McGregor is great - this and Trainspotting show how great it can be, just makes it harder to see him looking miserable in the Star Wars films. Fox is also very good, although she is a lot subtler than McGregor. However it is Eccleston who steals the film, even if he is required to go further than he should have in his downward spiral; contrast his character at the start and the end of the film, he did very well to gradually go from one to the other convincingly. The support cast is made up of familiar faces who don't really do that much - McCredie, Stott, Allen and Mullan.

Overall this is not without it's flaws but it works as a tight little moral thriller that is really enjoyable while watching it. And the ending will have you in the pub or on the message boards talking about it (in a good way).

The film starts with a blatant disregard for capitals (like a UNIX programmer). Vary noisy background music (named Leftfield Right) and a Blair Witch runs through the city. We see a building designed by Nash used as the apartment. This presentation is noisy and ridiculous. However, if you give it a little time everything begins to gel, and you will find yourself kibitzing in the standard mystery with all the twists, bells, and whistles. Be sure to notice the dodgy torch scenes.

The basic story is about three roommates (Kerry Fox. Ewan McGregor, and Christopher Eccleston) coming home to find their newfound fourth roommate (Keith Allen) dead. So, they do what any roommates do and rummage through all his stuff; there they find (you guessed it) a suitcase full of money. Most assuredly somebody out there is missing a suitcase full of money. You seem the story but maybe not quite as well displayed.

The only drawback is that even though it starts noisily when it gets in the center it is noisy and even the ending credits are noisy. Can't anybody make quiet mysteries anymore?

A strange plus is that this is a no-guns movie.

Displays paintings by Stephen Conroy was born in Helensburgh, Scotland in 1964.

Some songs included are: 'Shallow grave' Performed by left field Written by Neil Barnes and Paul Daley

'My baby just cares for me' Performed by Nina Simone Written by Walter Donaldson and Gus Kahn

'Happy heart' Performed by Andy Williams Written by James Last and Jackie Rae

'Release the dub' Performed by left field Written by Neil Barnes and Paul Daley

I could have sworn that from the architecture of the buildings this was England, however it was filmed on location in Glasgow and Edinburgh, Scotland.

The version I watched was a Blu-ray version of the 1994 movie Criterion version. There are two commentaries, the first one by Director Danny Boyle in 2009. The second commentary is by John Hodge and Andrew McDonald.

A before-they-were-famous movie that really shows off the talent of the folks in front of the camera (Ewan McGregor in his first major role and Christopher Eccleston longer before DOCTOR WHO) and also the talent behind the camera (director Danny Boyle's film debut before TRAINSPOTTING and SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, writer John Hodge in his debut before A LIFE LESS ORDINARY or THE BEACH, and producer Andrew Macdonald before going on to the likes of EX MACHINA, 28 DAYS LATER, and NEVER LET ME GO). McGregor, Eccleston, and Kerry Fox are flatmates in Edinburgh looking for a fourth, but when their new roomie turns up dead with a suitcase full of cash underneath his bed, the three decide to bury the body and keep the cash for themselves. As with most stories of this sort (think A SIMPLE PLAN, BOUND, or TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE), things do not go as planned and the former friends start to get greedy and turn on one another. While the cold calculating nature of the characters will likely turn off some audience members, it fits completely within the tropes of the genre, from OUT OF THE PAST to DOUBLE INDEMNITY, where characters cooly kill and wreck the lives of others for self-gain. I also love that the film is essentially a chamber piece, taking place almost entirely in one setting, with the flatmates turning on one another within the confines of their apartment. SHALLOW GRAVE even begins to have echos of psychological thrillers such as REPULSION or THE TENANT, with psychosexual undertones of both male flatmates being attracted to Fox in their own way, but especially when Eccleston holds up in the attic space with the money and drills holes in the ceiling to spy down on his former friends. Tonally, the film most resembles the Coen Brothers' BLOOD SIMPLE, which is another film that audiences either love or hate. My only complaint is there are a few plot gaps, such as how the gangsters track the money back to the three, but really, who cares when it's this fun? Highly recommend it for fans of 90s neo-noir!

SHALLOW GRAVE is a mean spirited, cold-blooded Scottish thriller, stylishly directed with three interesting performances from EWAN McGREGOR, KERRY FOX and CHRISTOPHER ECCLESTON, as roommates with a deadly secret--a fourth roommate who died in bed with a trunk full of money hidden underneath the bed.

Discovery of the money has the three of them wondering whether to simply report it to the police or share the spoils of a dead man. The temptation to keep the money is too much and they work out a scheme on how to get rid of the body. Telling any more would be giving away what turns into a very gripping tale of suspense with the crime ripping apart their loyalties and their friendship turning deadly. None of the three are likable characters with their shallow, iconoclastic values. It's no great surprise when they turn on each other.

It's full of irony and none of that irony is lost on the viewer who will never look at trusting relationships the same way again.

The performances are all top-notch with some excellent supporting work from the entire cast. It's the kind of film Alfred Hitchcock would have been proud to call his own with a twist at the end.

A dark tale, relieved by bits of humor (mainly from Ewan McGregor, who comes up with some clever lines). Well worth watching, it's disturbing in some of the more graphic scenes of violence, but well worth watching for the final payoff.

Danny Boyle.

You first think Trainspotting. I prefer this previous film that seems to defy ROGER EBERT's belief that characters should be warm and cuddly and it makes no sense to root for characters who are thoroughly unlikable.

The best part of this film is the fact that the characters ARE unlikable and this makes their motives/actions more plausible (and chilling). They could be the neighbors next door.

Boyle nails the tone early on and you find yourself really feeling like you are there in that house (as the fifth..er, fourth roommate).

Performances are first rate. THANK GOD this wasn't done in the US with Jennifer Love Hewitt, Steve Zahn and sisqo. You really get the sense you are a voyeur in these characters private moments.

A triumph.

Based on R1 DVD

Though you don't 'see' much, this is one gruesome movie. Almost the entire movie is shot in a top floor four bed roomed apartment something I barely noticed while viewing. The characters are unlikeable, well developed and convincing, the story is only a little far fetched, the horror is conveyed more by sound than sight but very well done; more than can be said for Exorcist3 which tried the same hear-not-see route to much less effect.

The ending came as a little surprise but if you watch closely you should be able to see it coming (maybe).

7/10 well worth watching.

"Shallow Grave" is a film by Danny Boyle from 1994, starring Kerry Fox, Ewan McGregor, and Christopher Eccleston. The three stars play roommates looking for a fourth, who put applicants through a bizarre series of questions and then laugh themselves sick afterward. They're three crazy, silly kids, McGregor is Alex, a reporter, Eccleston is David, an accountant, and Fox is Juliet, a doctor.

Finally, with Fox's encouragement, they choose a fourth roommate, Hugo (Keith Allen), who is found dead in his bed. Underneath the bed is his suitcase, filled with more money than any of them have ever seen. Unbenownst to them, two men are torturing a third asking where Hugo is, and it's clear they'll stop at nothing until they find Hugo and the money.

Alex decides it's best if they chop the body up and bury it sans hands, feet, and teeth. David gets the short straw and has to do the chopping, and Juliet brings the hands and feet to the hospital and disposes of them there. They roll the car into the river.

At that point, the friendships begin to change, and most of all, David begins to change, and the story takes on much darker elements.

Absolutely bizarre film, definitely not my type of thing, so I may not be the best person to comment on it. Boyle does a fabulous job, as do the actors, of depicting a life-changing, friendship-changing moment and the danger and terror that follows, not to mention the lack of trust and strange behavior.

Extremely interesting film if you can stand all the violence. It doesn't all make sense but boy, it keeps you engrossed. I saw Danny Boyle's Frankenstein on the stage. He's a master with a fresh point of view.

As far as craft is concerned, Shallow Grave is an impressive film. Danny Boyle is a stylish filmmaker and despite the fact that this is his first directorial effort, that style shines through. This is a very good-looking film with excellent set design and color scheming, as well as great camera-work. There's also an undeniable giddiness and energy to the film. It feels like the product of a talented guy who loves movies and has finally been given the opportunity to make his own; he's having fun, and it's infectious.

It really is a shame then that I couldn't get into this. For all of its style and unique energy, this movie ultimately failed to engage on an intellectual or emotional level. There are potentially good themes at work here as we see these three friends devolve into increasingly nefarious behavior: greed, corruption, and the inability to trust even those closest to you. But ultimately these themes aren't so much explored as they are presented. I don't feel as if I've gained any insight into the dark impulses of man as the credits roll, even if I have been shown them.

Perhaps the reason for this is my inability to really get on board with these characters. The performances themselves are actually quite good, with Ewan McGregor in particular giving a great portrayal of Alex which (intentional or not) is reminiscent of Malcolm McDowell as another (more memorable) Alex. However, I never felt like I really understood these characters or their motivations. They were introduced to be relatively immature and cruel in the beginning of the film as they torment some prospective roommates, but they essentially go from 0 to 60 from there without much setup. It wasn't so much a descent into criminality as a leap off of a cliff, which felt at odds with the fact that at least two of the three main characters were clearly well- off, intelligent, and successful (doctor and accountant).

The film tries to make a grand statement - at the outset it claims that the actions we are about to witness are things that any individual is capable of, even those who we would typically trust or deem honorable. It tries to reveal the primal, selfish nature of humans and the potential corrupting power of greed. But that theme doesn't ring true because of the lack of setup given to these characters. The quickness with which they jump to the heinous crimes they commit gives the impression that they were already morally compromised and sadistic to begin with. It doesn't feel like I'm watching average, decent people who have been seduced to violence by greed. Rather, I feel like I'm watching the story of these three specific opportunists who already lack empathy for others and, not surprisingly, spiral downwards when put in the situation that the film sets up. The universality of the theme just doesn't land.

So then, what if you just forget the failed thematic goal and view the film as just that - a stylish thriller about three bad friends doing bad things? I think your mileage will still vary. There just wasn't enough intrigue in the plot for it to really hold the film up on its own accord, and the characters aren't colorful or fleshed-out enough to stand next to similar creations like the aforementioned Alex DeLarge. Beyond the style, great visuals, and giddy energy, the film just doesn't have much else going for it.