Tumba al ras de la tierra

It's well performed with actors who would go onto greater things. The plot is pretty thin, insomuch as it has one. The most interesting and fascinating elements come through post viewing reflection, to consider what you would have done under these circumstances. The director is asking you to accept and believe the events that took place are plausible - are they? Or are they so implausible that the story becomes fantasy? If it's fantasy it's valueless, passing ninety minutes of your time and soon to be forgotten. If you can connect on a real world level then maybe you'll learn something about yourself you didn't know already - or at least choose to seldom acknowledge. Cinema is there to make you think and connect with the world in a different way and this film does just that for the most part.

See, there's these three little piggies (Ewan McGregor, Kerry Fox and Christopher Eccleston) who live together as flatmates in Glasgow. The one thing that ties them together more than the genial contempt they have for one another, is the DOUBLE amount of contempt they have for everyone else. To take in extra rent money, they decide to let a spare room in their place. After having a lot of fun at the expense of many 'unsuitable' candidates, they decide to award the spot to a very dodgy looking character named Hugo, (Keith Allen), who has a shady demeanor and a rather large suitcase.

This situation is ripe for betrayal, deceit, coercion and oh, let's not leave out murder, shall we? It's dynamite with an unlit fuse, just missing a match. And that 'match' is finally struck when the three roommates find a nude Hugo dead the next morning in his room, and that in his mysterious suitcase is more cash than the three of them combined will make in a year.

Anybody hear a sizzling noise in the background? That's nothing. The explosion is coming, and it is a DOOZY! Director Danny Boyle and writer John Hodge certainly know their noir thrillers, and they skilfully weave the strands of this twisted story together like a Hitchcock chamber piece, filtered through the gimlet-eyed gaze of the Coen Brothers. With a Glaswegan accent, of course.

The acting is top notch, especially Ewan in his first major movie role. The realistic outcome of each nerve-wracking situation ratchets up the suspense and the tension without a single false note, as the 'straw' friendships of these three not-so-likable characters goes up in a puff of spontaneous combustion...all for, as the O'Jays put it so aptly, "the love of money."

And speaking of classic songs, a great director knows how to infuse a scene with just the right touch of irony, comedy or even downright horror, such as what Quentin Tarantino did with the confectionery pop standard from Stealer's Wheel, "Stuck In The Middle With You." I could tell from the word 'go' that Danny Boyle would be one artist to watch, just through the way he took a gooey retro classic like Andy Williams' "Happy Heart," and infused it with chillingly fitting gallows humor for GRAVE'S jaw-dropping ending, that will stay with you long after you've seen it...even after the second or third time! No matter how many times I watch it, it still hits me like a ton of...well, you know...

Highly recommended, with great scoring work from artists like Simon Boswell, Leftfield and Tomandandy.

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

Shallow Grave is directed by Danny Boyle, the genius behind Trainspotting. Shallow Grave is about three friends, who live in the same apartment and try to study and work normally. They want to find one person to fill the room that is empty in their apartment, and soon they find the right one. However, one day something horrific happens and the friends find something very interesting in the new tenant's room. After this incident, their friendship starts to change and weird murders appear. I won't tell you more about the story as this must be seen without knowing too much about it. I hope others have not spoilt you and disturbed your viewing experience.

This film is about themes of friendship and greed and greed for money especially. Which one is more important, huge amount of money or a true friend? Ewan McGregor's voice at the end of the film tells us everything what the main character learned about life and these things throughout the film. This is pretty mean spirited and too much for others, because there are so many mean characters and some graphic and gory violence in Shallow Grave and everyone will not tolerate that. After all, this is very important film and gives us some difficult questions and something to think about. A human being can easily been seduced and once it has happened, everything the one has kept important may not be that anymore and the person's set of values has changed..

Technically Shallow Grave is very great and effectively scary. There are great camera movements and angles and weird ways to use camera. Music is okay but nothing too special, in my opinion. The atmosphere is pretty disturbing and this should have been enjoyed in the big screen. The real skills of this director are visible more completely in Trainspotting, a masterful drama about the world of drugs, also starring Ewan McGregor. The scenes in forest are especially spooky and as a horror thriller, Shallow Grave is very noteworthy.

There are, unfortunately, couple of scenes or characters' reactions, that I couldn't tolerate and that affects to the rating a little bit. The youngsters act sometimes stupidly and are too irritating. And the other fault in this film is that the clues for the gangsters to find these youngsters are not explained and all seems to happen too easily. But these are not too dangerous considering the great horror and cinematic elements of the film. I was waiting a little too much I think, because I had read many praising reviews about this film but still, I'm definitely not disappointed, even though the film could have been closer to perfection.

7/10

Danny Boyle seemed like he was destined for directorial greatness before the surprise success of "Trainspotting" got to his head. His first two pictures, however, are wonderful. "Shallow Grave" is one of the best modern thrillers I have seen in a long time.

The story centers around three British roommates who are trying to rent the empty room in their flat out to another person. When they finally do find a man to rent the flat out to, he dies in his sleep, leaving behind a briefcase full of a whole lot of money. What to do?

Much like "Trainspotting" of a few years later, "Shallow Grave" has very dark comical undertones to it. Unlike "Trainspotting" however, it is a much more serious film. Like Sam Raimi's "A Simple Plan" of four years later, it explores a moral dilemma between three friends on what to in a situation when you find a lot of money that does not belong to you. Do you compromise your morals for the money or do you do the right thing? One is never quite sure how the story will turn out and as you approach the ending of the film, you are never quite sure which one of the three friends is more sinister than the next, which makes the twists in the last part of the film such a darkly hilarious and chilling delight.

Films like "Shallow Grave" are exactly what independent filmmaking is all about. It's a smart, sleek and stylish film made on a small budget, driven by a cleaver story and interesting characters. Ewan McGregor and Christopher Eccleston both give great performances in this film. `Shallow Grave' is miles better than any thriller Hollywood has come up with in the last 10-15 years (if not longer). I give it an 8 out of 10.