Shallow Grave (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]

"How would you react if I told you I was an antichrist?" - mocks David a prospective roommate during one of the fun interviews in the beginning of the movie. Well, what do you know? A little farther into the plot, and that question doesn't sound so comical anymore.This film is not just a simple betrayal and greed story, but rather a deep exploration of a darker side of the human nature - a terrifying journey into anti-world, where love becomes hate, generosity turns into greed, friendship into betrayal, and ... even light comes from beneath. Thus, it is no accident that Alex, who places lesser emphasis on moral issues than his roommates, is least affected by that transformation, and I would argue that his initial motive for replacing the contents of the suitcase was just a practical joke. And David's reason for taking control of the money and his later attempt to have it all is not really greed, but some warped sense of justice - a revenge on his former friends for pushing him into abyss of inhumanity. And neither Juliet can escape destruction, although she realizes it at a later stage. Then, she does want the money badly, as the only compensation for the lost soul.I saw this film for the first time a few years ago on a late night TV, starting about one-fifth into the feature, missing the title and credits. The story, the atmosphere, the detachment and subtle irony of the presentation, which made it even more powerful, its momentum and unflagging rhythm, the acting - it blew me away. Next morning, I was calling my friends describing the plot and asking for a title, until someone gave me an answer. "What an amazing film" - my reaction was.Five stars are not enough to rate this film's virtues. IMHO, it is a great achievement of the genre. Some people refer to it as a "black comedy", but I wish they showed me where to laugh. If it is funny because Alex got all the money, I have news for them: Alex is dead (despite all that blinking at the police photographer's flash).

The movie that made Danny Boyle a great director with the first of the cash in the bag series. All the acting is top notch with nods to Ewan McGregor in one of his first movies. If you like any of the great Hitchcock films such as Rear Window or Notorious I would definitely watch this movie.

A watchable British film noir laced with British humour, and finely performed by the cast, especially the three main protagonist roommates. They sought a fourth to share the rent, but took delight in torturing and humiliating applicants. The one they accepted turned out to change their lives - for the worse. How would friendship hold out when a large money bag falls to friends. The viewer can get a glimpse of the answer in this film - reminiscent of the 1998 film, 'A Simple Plan' (starring Bridget Fonda and Billy Bob Thornton).

This is a great film!!! It starts off so unassuming...until it starts to twist!!! I absolutely LOVE the ending!!! This is the film I first saw Ewan McGregor in! Fantastic! This film is 2 years before Trainspotting.

I'd seen it before and after viewing it again, yes it was dated. Price was right and I'll probably re-gift it later.

First off, I am a card carrying member of the Danny Boyle marching and shouting society. I think he is one of the best directors working today. That being said, i thought I would like Shallow Grave more than I did. I thought I had seen it before, but I guess I had not. As a document of Boyle's early work, and of course the very, very young Ewen McGregor and Christopher Eccleston it is of course fascinating. As a thriller, it really is only good, not great. Basic plot, three roommates living in an amazing (!) flat in Glasgow are looking for a fourth roomie. They interview many candidates, which plot point supports the Boyle-esque humor and edginess of the first reel. The one they decide on, Hugo moves in and then proceeds to die of mysterious causes in his room, They discover him, along with a suitcase full of Pounds Sterling. Great set up, but what happens with Grave is it starts to lose focus. The inevitable "partners in crime begin to suspect and want to kill each other" trope takes over but the really weird thing is that Christopher Eccleston's character goes all Willard on them and starts living in the Attic. Which, by the way is where they have stashed the cash. Yeah...again, great film by an average director, perhaps great early Boyle but not great by the standards of, say, the legendary Trainspotting, the brilliant Sunshine or even the average Trance.

Loved it

Used it on Halloween for my own pleasure.

A+

Ich wollte meinen Teenager-Kids zeigen, dass es auch vor 30 Jahren coole Filme gab.

what can you do in this seedy innercity?just try to be yourself no matter what people may think about you, you can't escape your fate, but you can live up to your personnal standards

The first film directed by the highly acclaimed Danny Boyle, Shallow Grave is a prime example of what makes Boyle such a success, however it is in this success that Shallow Grave is regrettably overshadowed by much of Boyle's other work, in particular Trainspotting due to it being the immediate successor.The plot of Shallow Grave is undecidedly basic: three friends find their new flatmate dead in his room alongside a stash of questionably obtained money. Unwilling to surrender their loot by turning over the body to the police, the three opt to hide the body and keep their spoils to themselves. I won't disclose the rest in case I spoil it, but the truth is that the plot drives secondary to the characters, who are at once as fascinating and morbid as ever the story could be. It is in the minds of the protagonists and the tangled relationships they share that the film really shines.The three main characters are introduced at once as being wicked and exclusive, displayed through their rampant cruelty as they make a game out of humiliating potential flat-mates. It is credit to McGregor that his obnoxious journalist, Alex, is difficult to dislike despite being the most forceful and sadistic of the trio, earning favour through his sharp wit and unrelenting charisma. The real story of Shallow Grave, however, is told through the degeneration of the docile and quiet accountant, David (Eccleston), as he fails to come to terms with the atrocity of their crime and falls foul to chronic paranoia, eventually becoming a recluse. The group dynamic is also an undeniably major part, for in the beginning the characters are shown to be extremely tight-knit, but the incident irreversibly drives them apart, forcing fickle alliances, torn apart by selfishness and fear.Truly, Shallow Grave stands out because under its simple premise, lie deep and complex characters with whom the watcher is compelled to adore, pity and ultimately despise as they follow the characters from the start through to their retribution. Shallow Grave feels raw and basic, but in this it finds itself; there is no doubt that it was restricted by budgetary constraints, almost the entireity of the film takes place in the characters' Edinburgh flat, however by taking away all the unnecessary, it boils down to being a Aesop's fable style story of the impact of greed on the psyche and represents one of the finest examples of British cinema.

I had never seen this film until this Criterion edition. A great first film by Boyle and McGregor is great! Highly recommended and...it's Criterion, so you're in good hands.