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Shallow Grave
1994 Directed by : Danny Boyle
So, I've watched a good few turkeys recently, and in order to retain my faith in films, I decided to watch something that has greatly influenced me over the last two decades.
In my opinion, Shallow Grave was the film that breathed life back into a stale British Film Industry back in 1994 and cleared the way for a new wave of young British directors like Shane Meadows, Chris Nolan and even Guy Ritchie.
The story is simple, what starts off as a search for a new flatmate turns into a dead body, a suitcase full of money and questions and answers that will change the three main protagonist's lives for ever.
Right from the start we are left in no doubt that the three protagonists, Alex ( Ewan McGregor ) David ( Christopher Ecclestone ) and Juliet ( Kerry Fox ) are despicable characters, and all are deeply flawed individuals in their own ways, but just how far will they go, and at what cost to their friendship, sanity or life.
The story is a throw back to the old school Film Noir, there are shades of Hitchcock in this taught twisted little thriller.
I think part of the reason I love this film so much is that Boyle never feels the need to justify why these characters are so flawed, in fact he seems to revel in their nastiness, and there are spade loads of bitter, twisted, dark humour.
This was a break through role for Ewen McGregor, an obnoxious, arrogant man whos macabre delight at the prospect of the gruesome task at hand has to be seen to be believed. At first McGregor is the ring leader of the flatmates, cajooling them into said gruesome tasks, before ultimately realizing that he might be in over his head, and that he might have created a monster.
Add to this Christopher Ecclestone's slow and measured descent into madness, which he underplays to perfection, and adds a real menace to the final act, with Kerry Fox's femme fatale at the core of this bizarre love triangle, with a few twists, double crosses and loads of tension, and you have a modern classic of British cinema.
It does look slightly dated now, but it's still hugely enjoyable.
Rating 4.5/5 A slice of dark Scottish humour and a modern classic in this reviewer's book.
1994 Directed by : Danny Boyle
So, I've watched a good few turkeys recently, and in order to retain my faith in films, I decided to watch something that has greatly influenced me over the last two decades.
In my opinion, Shallow Grave was the film that breathed life back into a stale British Film Industry back in 1994 and cleared the way for a new wave of young British directors like Shane Meadows, Chris Nolan and even Guy Ritchie.
The story is simple, what starts off as a search for a new flatmate turns into a dead body, a suitcase full of money and questions and answers that will change the three main protagonist's lives for ever.
Right from the start we are left in no doubt that the three protagonists, Alex ( Ewan McGregor ) David ( Christopher Ecclestone ) and Juliet ( Kerry Fox ) are despicable characters, and all are deeply flawed individuals in their own ways, but just how far will they go, and at what cost to their friendship, sanity or life.
The story is a throw back to the old school Film Noir, there are shades of Hitchcock in this taught twisted little thriller.
I think part of the reason I love this film so much is that Boyle never feels the need to justify why these characters are so flawed, in fact he seems to revel in their nastiness, and there are spade loads of bitter, twisted, dark humour.
This was a break through role for Ewen McGregor, an obnoxious, arrogant man whos macabre delight at the prospect of the gruesome task at hand has to be seen to be believed. At first McGregor is the ring leader of the flatmates, cajooling them into said gruesome tasks, before ultimately realizing that he might be in over his head, and that he might have created a monster.
Add to this Christopher Ecclestone's slow and measured descent into madness, which he underplays to perfection, and adds a real menace to the final act, with Kerry Fox's femme fatale at the core of this bizarre love triangle, with a few twists, double crosses and loads of tension, and you have a modern classic of British cinema.
It does look slightly dated now, but it's still hugely enjoyable.
Rating 4.5/5 A slice of dark Scottish humour and a modern classic in this reviewer's book.