Shallow Grave (1994)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Danny Boyle

Writer:

John Hodge (written by)

Release Date:

10 February 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

The award winning thriller that'll bury you with laughs.

Plot:

Three friends discover their new flatmate dead but loaded with cash.

Plot Keywords:

Friend | Interview | Transvestite | Car | Corpse

Awards:

14 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Kerry Fox	...	Juliet Miller
Christopher Eccleston	...	David Stephens
Ewan McGregor	...	Alex Law
Ken Stott	...	Detective Inspector McCall
Keith Allen	...	Hugo
Colin McCredie	...	Cameron
Victoria Nairn	...	Visitor
Gary Lewis	...	Visitor
Jean Marie Coffey	...	Goth
Peter Mullan	...	Andy
Leonard O'Malley	...	Tim
David Scoular	...	Cash Machine Victim
Grant Glendinning	...	Bath Victim
Victor Eadie	...	Freezer victim
Robert David MacDonald	...	Lumsden

MPAA:

Rated R for scenes of strong grisly violence, and for some language and nudity.

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Singapore:M18 (DVD rating) | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Finland:K-16 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:III | Netherlands:16 | Norway:18 | Portugal:M/18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 | UK:18 | USA:R | South Korea:18 | France:-12 | Canada:14A

Filming Locations:

Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

Company:

Channel Four Films

Trivia:

According to director Danny Boyle there's a sly connection between this film and his next film, Trainspotting (1996). Keith Allen portrays a drug dealer in both films leading us to believe he may be the same character in featured in both, as Trainspotting was suppose to take place in the late 80s before the occurrences in Shallow Grave.

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: Reflected the car window when Alex pushes Hugo's car into the lake.

Quotes:

Detective-Inspector McCall: In your work you must meet lots of different people every day. New people, new faces, no?
Juliet Miller: Yes.
Detective-Inspector McCall: What do you recognize most, names or faces?
Juliet Miller: Diseases.
Detective-Inspector McCall: Like recognizing criminals by their crimes.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 100 Greatest Scary Moments (2003) (TV)

Soundtrack:

My Baby Just Cares for Me

Well-done approach to classic suspense plot.

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