Shallow Grave

“Shallow Grave” is a tight, lean little thriller with a great premise. No bells or whistles here. It’s just greed and paranoia delivering top-notch suspense.

Alex (Ewan McGregor), Juliet (Kerry Fox) and David (Christopher Eccleston) find their newest roommate dead of a drug overdose, leaving his briefcase full of money for the taking. When they decide to keep the cash and hide the body, fractures begin to form between them.

There were many points throughout where I thought "Here it is, it’s the end of the movie. What a ride that was!" and then, something new would crop up. Usually, my internal clock allows me to figure out roughly when each act of a film is going to start and end so I can somewhat see the conclusion arriving. Not this time. I have no idea how long this film runs. 1.5 hours? 2 hours? It felt like nothing at all either way.

The best quality of “Shallow Grave” is its simplicity. Not a lot of characters, no special effects. Just a question: If you found a suitcase full of money, what would you do? You might be able to figure that one out, but what if you were with your best friends and the other two talked you into keeping it? How far would you go to ensure you get away clean. What next? How long do you wait until you start spending it? How do you avoid suspicion should one of your co-conspirators start flaunting their new-found riches? How much do you REALLY trust your best friends? You’re kept wondering where the film is headed by the characters and their interactions. You quickly grok the friendship between Juliet, David, and Alex, but you can’t help but feel as though something about it is off. It makes their deterioration that much more suspenseful. “Shallow Grave” doesn’t need wild developments after its initial setup. It’s the changes in the way these three friends relate that tell you how dangerous things have become.

It all culminates in a terrific ending. My only criticism with "Shallow Grave" is that I’m not sure how much re-watch value the picture has. There’s no way a second viewing will have the same power as this first one. That’s pretty minor all things considered. “Shallow Grave” is a tense little thriller from Danny Boyle’s early career. (Theatrical version on the big screen, February 8, 2017)