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Fantastic!

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

The acting in this movie is really good.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

First of all, I'll address what seems to be the primary criticism about 'Shallow Grave,' i.e. the three main characters are as shallow as the graves they dig for their victims. Even the usually charming Ewan McGregor is as nasty and spiteful as his two flatmates, played by Christopher Ecleston and Kerry Fox.So, if you're looking for a film where you can truly identify with a bunch of nice, loyal, brave heroes, then Danny Boyle's first film probably isn't for you.But, if you can put up with the deliberately dark tones of the film, you should enjoy it. The three stuck-up friends come into possession of a suitcase-load of money (courtesy of a forth flatmate - now deceased). They - naturally - think they're entitled to it and set about having a jolly good time.If the film really did contain such unlikeable characters as some people seem to hate it for, then I doubt it would ever have been considered the classic that it is. I think we tolerate these selfish individuals because we know that, once they've decided not to turn the money over to the proper authorities, then retribution is never far from their door.It's not as stylish as Trainspotting, as Hollywood as A Life Less Ordinary, as action-packed as 28 Days Later, or deep and aspiring as Slumdog Millionaire, but it is a great and raw flick from undoubtedly one of Britain's finest modern film-makers. Definitely worth a watch.

"Shallow Grave" is a thriller that challenges you based on how you feel about the characters. Since we are aware early on that the characters in this movie – nee, the heroes – are unlikable and snobbish, that kind of puts us at a distance. Our concern for their safety is thus pushed away. That pulls the rug out from under the whole film.The story is intriguing. Three twerpy snobs, David Stephens (Christopher Eccleston), an accountant, Juliet (Kerry Fox) and Alex (Ewan McGregor) share a roomy flat in Edinburgh and decide to rent out the spare room. During the (somewhat mean-spirited) application process, they have a blast poking fun at the potential applicants. Finally one suits their fancy, an older man named Keith who not only gets the room but catches Juliet"s eye.The next day they find Keith dead in his room. Searching the room, they find a suitcase filled with a mountain of cash. What to do with it? No one besides the three roommates knows that Keith has been there so they decide to cut up the body and split the cash among themselves.This easier said then done. First is deciding who will cut him up, where they will take the pieces, whether anyone suspects them and whether or not they trust one another. The situation snowballs out of control as one bad turn becomes another and the three become more and more paranoid.This is not exactly a new idea. The story was told better by the Coen Brothers in "Blood Simple" and in "Fargo" with more of a twist of human nature in Sam Raimi"s "A Simple Plan". But those films were done with a sense of the characters. They used a visual style and in the case of Raimi"s film they used likable people who were suddenly finding themselves doing things that they never thought imaginable.This movie was directed by Danny Boyle who somehow made likable characters out of heroine addicts with his breakthrough film 'Trainspotting". But 'Shallow Grave" is a movie that depends on how we feel about people who find themselves doing horrible things to feed their own greed. The closer they get to being caught, the more we have to care about them in order to feel for them. This unwholesome trio is not exactly a group that you would want to spend five minutes with much less care about their fate.** (of four)

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.

Danny Boyle's directorial debut remains a satisfying, stylish and twisted little black comedy thriller. It features fledgling wannabes Kerry Fox, Christopher Eccleston and Ewan McGregor as yuppie flatmates taking in a new lodger to share the bills. It isn't long before Hugo the lodger is found dead in bed from an overdose and the three smug and selfish twenty-somethings find themselves in possession of a suitcase full of loot.Naturally, they want the money, but what to do about Hugo? Then there's the little matter of the two gangland killers who are looking for Hugo and the dough.The scene is set for a grisly and wicked ramble through the intricate highways and byways of body disposal, murder and duplicitous double-crossing.Part thriller, part jet black satire on the corrosive dysfunction characterising Thatcher's self-centred and greed-obsessed 90s babies, Boyle has a keen eye for social comment and a scalpel sharp sense of morbid humour.There is much to enjoy, notably Eccleston's mental devolution from straight-laced and OCD accountant to paranoid and murderous loft dweller, Fox's moral dissipation to ruthless femme-fatale using sexual promiscuity to get what she wants, and McGregor's persona downturn from confident, wired and irresponsible journo to nervy and fearful potential victim in line.It's great nasty fun, with pleasingly reverent nods to Hitchcock, and the payoff (if you don't know it) is a wry little cracker.A deliciously cruel gem of a movie.