Details
Movie Description
After three roommates finally choose a new roommate they think they can live with, they find him dead on the floor with a suitcase full of cash. While trying to remove the body and extricate themselves from the situation, they wade hip-deep into a world of drugs, greed and madness. A delightfully circuitous, nailbiting, and unpretentious noir, with the murder as a MacGuffin--director Boyle, who gained more acclaim across the Atlantic with follow-up TRAINSPOTTING, is more interested in the gradual psychological disintegration of the roommates.
Synopsis
After three Edinburgh roommates (Ewan McGregor, Christopher Eccleston, and Kerry Fox) finally choose a new roommate they can live with, they find him dead on the floor with a suitcase full of cash. While trying to remove the body and extricate themselves from the situation, they wade hip-deep into a world of drugs, greed, and madness. Danny Boyle's first feature film is a delightfully circuitous, nail-biting, and unpretentious noir, with the director--and screenwriter John Hodge--focusing on the gradual psychological disintegration of the roommates. Boyle and Hodge would gain even greater acclaim across the Atlantic with their hit follow-up, TRAINSPOTTING. Eccleston would go on to appear in films such as ELIZABETH and THE OTHERS. McGregor, of course, would become Rent Boy and eventually Obi-Wan Kenobi, among many other screen roles.
Film Notes
DVD Features:
Region 1 Encoding
Standard/Widescreen presentations
English and French
Filmographies
Closed Captioning
Theatrical trailer
Shot on location in Glasgow and Edinburgh, Scotland in Rank color.
Co-produced in the UK by Glasgow Film Fund and Figment Film.
Directorial debut for Danny Boyle.
Additional cast: Jean Marie Coffey (Goth) and Peter Mullan (Andy).
Additional credits: The Sound Design Company (post-production sound) and Grant Mason (special makeup effects).
Excerpt from the film "The Wicker Man" courtesy Lumiere Pictures Ltd.
Rated BBFC 18 by the British Board of Film Classification.
Copyright 1994 Channel Four Television and Glasgow Film Fund.
Industry Reviews
"...Glittering, deadpan, nihilistic....Weirdly thrilling..."
Entertainment Weekly - Lisa Schwarzbaum (03/17/1995)
"...A tar-black comedy that zings along on a wave of visual and scripting inventiveness....[The] playing and casting are strong down the line..."
Variety - Derek Elley (05/30/1994)
"...Mr. Boyle's nasty ingenuity recalls the playful early days of the Coen brothers....As a tale of death and expediency, SHALLOW GRAVE also invites comparison to Alfred Hitchcock..."
New York Times - Janet Maslin (02/10/1995)
Quotations
"What's a little murder among friends?" -- marketing line for the film
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