Shallow Grave

Infobox Film
name = Shallow Grave


caption = Shallow Grave film poster
director = Danny Boyle
producer = Andrew MacDonald
writer = John Hodge
narrator =
starring = Kerry Fox
Christopher Eccleston
Ewan McGregor
music = Simon Boswell
cinematography = Brian Tufano
editing = Masahiro Hirakubo
distributor = Film4
released =
runtime = 89 minutes
country = UK
language = English
budget =
website =
amg_id =
imdb_id = 0111149

"Shallow Grave" is a 1994 British crime thriller feature film that marks the directorial debut of Danny Boyle with an original screenplay by John Hodge.

The film also provided starring roles for the then unknown actors Ewan McGregor, Christopher Eccleston and Kerry Fox.

The production was funded by Channel 4 television and the film distributed by Polygram Filmed Entertainment who as with their other releases generated a large amount of publicity for the film on a limited budget.

The film is set in Edinburgh, Scotland, although the majority of filming took place in Glasgow because the filmmakers received a £150,000 grant from the Glasgow Film Fund.

Cast

The film stars Ewan McGregor in his first major film role, alongside Christopher Eccleston and Kerry Fox. The supporting cast is led by Keith Allen, Peter Mullan, and Ken Stott. McGregor's mother appears in the film briefly as a potential roommate.

Plot

Alex (McGregor) a journalist, David (Eccleston) an accountant, and Juliet (Fox) a doctor, are three friends who share a flat in Edinburgh. They need a new flat mate and after a sequence of interviews (in which unwanted applicants are rejected with calculated cruelty) take in the mysterious Hugo (Keith Allen). When Hugo suddenly dies of a drug overdose (possibly a suicide) they discover he has a very large amount of cash in a suitcase. The three decide to keep the money and to dispose of Hugo's corpse in the titular "shallow grave." Straws are drawn to decide who is to dismember the corpse, and the unwilling David is lumbered with the task. The job complete, the three return to their daily lives. Alex and Juliet decide to spend some of the money, whereas David starts to suffer post-traumatic stress disorder from the incident. After discovering that Alex and Juliet have spent a lot of the money on meaningless items, he resorts to moving the suitcase into the loft and out of their reach. To make sure the money is safe, he eventually moves in the loft and seldom comes down except when the flat is empty.

A pair of criminals who had business with the deceased Hugo invade the flat and beat Alex's shins with a crowbar. Under duress he gives up the location of the money. Unaware that David is in the loft, one of the criminals enters it and looks for the money, only to be assaulted by David with a hammer. Hearing a soft thud, the other criminal enters the loft only to suffer the same fate as his friend. Both are disposed of in the same manner as Hugo; dismembered and buried in shallow graves by David, who is becoming more and more psychologically unstable. After a few days, David starts to drill holes in the ceiling, which are either for light, air or more possibly for viewing his flatmates. Alex manages to get into the loft and find the money, however on his descent he is confronted by David and a drill. Alex convinces David that he was not up there for the money but to make sure he was all right. Juliet, aware that her flatmate is becoming more and more dangerous, buys a plane ticket to escape him.

A few days later, Alex is called upon by his boss to visit the scene of a crime where three bodies have been found, which turn out to be those of Hugo and the criminals. While Alex is investigating the scene, Juliet and David sleep together. Alex comes back to find that they have sided against him, blaming him for the discovery of the bodies because the grave was not deep enough. After a series of visits by the police, David decides to leave the flat with the suitcase of money. As he leaves he is confronted by Juliet who tells him to take her with him, which he refuses. He confronts her about the plane ticket, accuses her of trying to run off with Alex, then punches her. Alex attacks David back and the fight spills into the kitchen where David grabs a knife and stabs Alex below the shoulder, pinning him to the floor. David grabs another knife but is stopped by Juliet, who thrusts a knife through his throat from behind.

Juliet uses her shoe to pound the knife deeper into Alex, pinning him further to the kitchen floor. She leaves with the suitcase, leaving Alex mumbling to himself as the camera pulls back.

The police discover Alex in the kitchen and he begins to smile. The camera cuts to Juliet screaming in her car. She leaps out of the car, revealing the open suitcase - but instead of money, the case is full of newspaper, carefully cut to the same pattern as the money. Written all the way across "TRIPLE CORPSE HORROR, TRIPLE CORPSE HORROR, TRIPLE CORPSE HORROR" and one solitary bank note secured with a rubber band. We see Alex again, smiling and appearing to laugh slightly. A cut away shot reveals the money, hidden under the floorboards. Juliet rushes to the airport with no luggage. David is brought to the morgue.

oundtrack

Infobox Album
Name = Shallow Grave
Type = Soundtrack
Artist = Simon Boswell


Released = 1995
Recorded =
Genre = Electronic, Jazz, Rock
Length =
Label = EMI
Producer = Simon Boswell
Reviews =
Chronology = Danny Boyle film soundtrack
Last album =
This album = "Shallow Grave"
(1995)
Next album = ""
(1996)

Track listing

# Leftfield – "Shallow Grave" – 4:38
# Simon Boswell – "Shallow Grave Theme" – 3:30
# Nina Simone – "My Baby Just Cares for Me" – 3:38
# Simon Boswell – "Laugh Riot" – 3:02
# Leftfield – "Release the Dubs" – 5:45
# John Carmichael Band – "Strip the Willow" – 3:12
# Simon Boswell – "Loft Conversion" – 5:45
# Simon Boswell – "A Spade, We Need a Spade" – 2:41
# Simon Boswell – "Shallow Grave, Deep Depression" – 4:49
# Simon Boswell – "Hugo's Last Trip" – 5:39
# Andy Williams – "Happy Heart" – 3:11

External links

*
* [http://www.cultfiction.com.au/shallow-grave/ Review] at Cult Fiction.

###@@@KEY@@@###succession box
before = "Shadowlands"
after = "The Madness of King George"
title = Alexanda Korda Award for Best British Film
years = 1994