Grave Thoughts

Before Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, Slumdog Millionaire, or any of his other famous films, director Danny Boyle got his start with a bizarre little movie called Shallow Grave. Two men and a woman -- all flatmates -- take on a fourth boarder who mysteriously dies shortly after moving in. Even more mysteriously, he's left a suitcase full of cash under his bed. The trio comes to the decision to dispose of the body so they can keep the money for themselves. Complications, from within and without, ensue.

The two men of the film will be quite recognizable: Christopher Eccleston and Ewan McGregor. The former was the first of the new crop on Doctor Who, while the latter was actually making his first film appearance here before returning for Trainspotting and going on to break out in a huge way. These two, together with Kerry Fox, anchor the bizarre story.

The 90-minute film seems to strike a quite serious tone, and all three give serious performances throughout as the characters start united and then begin to fracture. And yet, somewhere around 10 minutes from the end, it weirdly dawned on me: "I think this was supposed to be a black comedy." Nothing I'd seen before had made me feel the urge to laugh, and yet things had wound up in such a ridiculous place that I could only assume laughs were intentional. Indeed, the final moment of the film centers on a character laughing maniacally at the scene.

Well, I have nothing against a black comedy in principle. But I feel like this film didn't lean into that genre enough. Yet it also certainly wasn't serious enough to hold the specter of disbelief at bay for the duration. So ultimately, though the film did entertain, I don't think it was completely successful.

But it's certainly worth recommending to the right audience. If you liked the unhinged quality of Trainspotting, you'd probably enjoy it. If you like the macabre elements of a horror like Scream or I Know What You Did Last Summer, but were put off by the slasher qualities and/or the teenaged sensibilities, this might be the more "grown-up" version to suit you. Some critics likened it to Pulp Fiction, which I know will catch the interest of some of you. In any event, I'd call Shallow Grave a B-