Shallow Grave

UK Release Date. 6 January 1995
Certification. 18
Running Time. 1 hour 29 mins
Director. Danny Boyle
Cast. Keith Allen, Christopher Eccleston, Kerry Fox, Ewan McGregor, Peter Mullan, Ken Stott.
Rating. 74%

Review.

Written by John Hodge, produced by Andrew Macdonald and directed by Danny Boyle, Shallow Grave proved to be the best British thriller for many a year. This was the first of five collaborations between the talented trio - Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, A Life Less Ordinary, The Beach and T2 Trainspotting. In a decade that proved to be somewhat of a renaissance for UK filmmaking, Shallow Grave proclaimed that British cinema could be more than the cordial Merchant Ivory period dramas, the earnest social realism of Ken Loach, Mike Leigh and Michael Winterbottom and the saccharine-sweet comedies of Richard Curtis.

The film opens with a kinetic, breakneck imitation of the opening credits to Roger Avary's 1993 film, Killing Zoe. Replace Paris with the cobbled streets of Edinburgh Old Town and a pulsating Leftfield track, Shallow Grave, and we're off. Three flatmates, and firm friends - Juliet (Kerry Fox), David (Christopher Eccleston) and Alex (Ewan McGregor) - are in search of a fourth flatmate. It certainly won't be Cameron (Colin McCredie),

"So tell me, Cameron, just tell me because I'd like to know, what on earth could make you think that we would want to share a flat like this with someone like you? I mean, my first impression, and they're rarely wrong, is that you have none of the qualities that we normally seek in a prospective flatmate. I'm talking here about things like presence, charisma, style and charm, and I don't think we're asking too much, I don't think we're being unreasonable. Take David here, for instance - a chartered accountant he may be, but at least he tries hard. The point is I don't think you're trying."

They eventually settle on the mysterious Hugo (Keith Allen), a decision which turns out to be an enormous mistake, for the next day he turns up dead in his bedroom with a suitcase full of money hidden under the bed.

Despite the usual thriller cliches, Shallow Grave achieves its cut-above-the-rest status through frighteningly realistic characters, claustrophobic setting and relentless pace. Boyle never lets up for a second, packing more into a 94-minute run time than many films twice the length, avoiding contrived sub-plots or unnecessary character development. Instead, we're faced with the principal characters' downward spiral into deviance and deceit.

Each of the three main characters has distinctive character arcs and none is displayed more starkly than Christopher Eccleston’s portrayal of David. He’s initially a reluctant conspirator, full of repressed anger and self-loathing, which is covered by his irreverent and sarcastic demeanour.

The incidentals, such as the constantly ringing telephone and the haunting, wandering signature piano music by Simon Boswell continually elevate the tension. Indeed, the strains of Simon Boswell's piano are every bit as chilling as anything offered by John Carpenter. The camera work and angles used by Boyle and his Director of Photography, Brian Tufano are equally impressive. There are oblique shots between floorboards, a dark and dank loft illuminated through shards of light, the reflection of the intruder in David’s glasses and numerous sweeping shots of the inside of the flat.

A simple tale of friendship and split loyalties, Shallow Grave is not a perfect film by any means, but the film succeeds through caustically black humour, stand-out scenes and three career-defining performances from Christopher Eccleston, Kerry Fox and Ewan McGregor.