Shallow Grave (1994)

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

Director:

Danny Boyle

Writer:

John Hodge

Stars:

Kerry Fox, Christopher Eccleston, Ewan McGregor

14 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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	...	Woman Visitor
Gary Lewis	...	Male 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

Storyline

Three friends in Edinburgh, Scotland, interview and select a new flatmate. He's hardly moved in than they discover him dead in his room. An ethical dilemma ensues when they discover that he possessed a large amount of cash. Things get worse as the men whose money it was search for it, and the three friends start to turn on each other.

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Plot Keywords:

stabbed in the neck | roommate | money | friend | holding head underwater | 

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Taglines:

What's a little murder among friends?

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Genres:

Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 February 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Petits meurtres entre amis

Filming Locations:

Tyne Bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$2,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£734,340 (United Kingdom), 20 January 1995

Gross USA:

$2,881,508

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$20,500,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Channel Four Films, The Glasgow Film Fund, Figment Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to Danny Boyle, the three main actors carried out research for their characters' respective jobs. Ewan McGregor worked on a newspaper, Christopher Eccleston spent time at an accountancy firm and Kerry Fox did a night shift at a hospital.

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Goofs

On the name plate on the door David's last name is spelled "Stevens" but in the credits it's spelled "Stephens".

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Quotes

Alex Law: It's not every day I find a story in my own flat.
Juliet Miller: It's not a story, Alex. It's a corpse.

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Crazy Credits

The closing credits appear over images of the three main characters in happier times, ironically all laughing hysterically.

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Connections

Referenced in Black and White: Interview Featurette with Cast and Crew (2004)

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Soundtracks

Happy Heart
Written by James Last and Jackie Rae
Performed by Andy Williams

User Reviews

Vibrant and suspenseful

A great modern thriller containing all the necessary ingredients of a decent suspense story: constantly growing tension, sly humor, and genuinely surprising plot twists. It's kind of like a 90s version of a Hitchcock flick (think "Rope"), and like somebody here wrote, once you start watching it you can't stop.

The plot is deliciously wicked. Just how far are you going to go for money? Will you kill for it? Are you willing to share it? Will you give up your best friends for it? How insane will a large amount of cash drive you? And in the end, and this is the most important question "Shallow Grave" rises, will it make you happy?

If there was any more violence in this movie it would turn disgusting, but Danny Boyle knows how to measure it just right. Though he doesn't quite reach the virtuosity of "Trainspotting" here, his trademarks are all present: the fast pace, the urban background beats, the enthralling camera angles and so forth.

The three leads are all great, but there's no question about who the movie belongs to: Ewan McGregor is energetic, powerful and photogenic in his portrayal of a young journalist. No wonder he became such a star.