Shallow Grave (1995)

Best movie ever!

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

Three friends discover their new flatmate dead but loaded with cash.So, Danny Boyle's dad says this is the best Danny Boyle film, even better than "Slumdog Millionaire". With all due respect to Mr. Boyle, I have to disagree. This is a good film, but not the major splash such films as "Slumdog" or "28 Days later" were. For many people, Danny Boyle revolutionized the zombie film.It is great to see Ewan McGregor and Chris Eccleston in such early roles. I do not know enough about British films to be sure, but it seems like these two gentlemen and Boyle were on the rise at the same time, and very much because of each other. ("Trainspotting" had to be the breakout film for Boyle, and was likely for McGregor, too.)

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.

At his best, Danny Boyle is one of our finest living filmmakers. And if this 1st feature isn't quite up to the level of the best of his work, it still shows one heck of a lot of talent.That said, while enjoyable and full of energy and solid performances, this didn't hold up as well on 2nd viewing as I'd hoped. This caper drama about 3 self obsessed, comically awful 20 somethings who fall into a bag of money and slowly turn on each other has a lot of dark cynical fun in it, but there are just too many logic holes and too many character leaps to be fully satisfying. A lot of the twists are clever (although some are predictable) but rather than characters evolving, they seem to lurch suddenly on their way down the rat hole to beyond forgivable. You accept the sudden transformations because they're there, but it did leave me wondering 'when did THAT suddenly happen to the character'. In turn, that underlines the film's somewhat cartoony nature, which makes sure it's never too disturbing to enjoy no matter how awfully everyone behaves, but that also robs it of the chance of being a deeper film than just a fun, smart genre exercise.With "Trainspotting" Boyle went on to find that perfect balance of surface fun, and deeper meanings, but this is a good first step.

Years prior to winning the Oscar for Slumdog Millionaire, Danny Boyle directed the dark comedy, Shallow Grave. Ewan McGregor is Alex, a journalist, who along with his friends, David an accountant, and Julia, a doctor, rent a flat in Edinburgh. The fourth person has left and they place an ad for a replacement. After a series of rejections, they rent to a mysterious man named Hugo. He shortly thereafter dies of a drug overdose, and they find a large amount of cash hidden away. Human nature and greed soon take over as the three remaining tenants decide to divide the money up and hide the dearly departed's corpse in a shallow grave. That's when all the fun begins, as they struggle to find Hugo a final resting place. I would compare Boyle's work to the Coen brothers Fargo for it's grave(excuse the pun) view of the nature of man; and woman, in this case. It is both funny and violent, and a real hidden treasure.