Danny Boyle is one of those directors you can never really pin down. He has a distinct style, but tackles every genre under the sun and you never really know what he is going to do next. In 1996, he really caught the attention of the world with his trippy hit Trainspotting and later tackled many subjects with films like A Life Less Ordinary, The Beach, 28 Days Later…, Sunshine, Slumdog Millionaire and 127 Hours. But before all of these films he directed his first feature film called Shallow Grave, a film that helped launch the career of Ewan McGregor and started a new movement in British thrillers.
Roommates Juliet Miller (Kerry Fox), David Stephens (Christopher Eccleston) and Alex Law (Ewan McGregor) are looking for a new roommate. All three people are sarcastic, self centered and self-serving, but get along together well. Through funny but often cruel interviews, they eventually settle on Hugo (Keith Allen). Hugo moves in to his room, locks the door and is not seen for days. Eventually concerned for their new roommate, they break in the door to find Hugo dead and a suitcase full of money. After deciding to keep the money, all three of them begin to find out how the large sum of money can alter their lives, their personalities, and perhaps their safety.
To say any more about Shallow Grave is to ruin a great experience. It is one of those finely tuned films that coasts along so effortlessly it is a true pleasure to behold. The turn of events can be shocking, unexpected, and fun to try and predict. For a film from 1994, it also holds up perfectly, with only McGregor’s legwarmer style socks giving away the films vintage. All three of the main character performances are perfect with each personality being precisely defined and each of their arc’s being brilliantly drawn. McGregor’s charm oozes here even though he is the most unlikable of the three. He is a smarmy jerk, but with his trademark charms in place, he is still endearing. Fox and Eccleston are also fantastic bringing an excellent sense of balance to the three roommates. Eccleston’s arc in particular is a fascinating character study about what witnessing horror can do to a person. And with Boyle’s confident direction backing all of those performances up, and a deliriously paced script by John Hodge, Shallow Grave is a perfect cocktail of a thriller that is sure to please. And you even get nice little part by one of my favorite actors, Peter Mullan of Tyrannosaur and Session 9. A true gem in every sense of the word.
The BluRay from Criterion is another notch on their impossibly long belt. As is par for the course with Criterion, the transfer is simply beautiful. Nice black levels, nice color reproduction, excellent detail and clarity, and all on a low budget flick. You also get a ton of informative special features on the making of the film and its importance to British cinema. If you are not familiar with Shallow Grave, do yourself a favor and pick it up. You will not be disappointed. Highly recommended.
