Danny Boyle’s first major movie Shallow Grave asks the question what would happen if you gave already terrible people a suitcase full of money? Now that seems like a simple and pretty bare bones story that doesn’t need further examination. But honestly, I think there’s a lot going on with this 93 minute, low budget comedy/thriller. It’s 3 lead characters are complex, it has compelling themes, the filmmaking is experimental and exciting, and this is just a great movie to put on for your friends or family who don’t know anything about it. Not knowing the twists and turns this movie takes and watching it for the first time is so much fun that I recommend if you haven’t seen it to stop reading this and go see it. But for those of you wanting to know more, here’s my take on the movie.
The story centers around three flatmates, Juliet (Kerry Fox), David (Christopher Eccleston), and Alex (Ewan McGregor), interviewing for a fourth one in their big and lavish flat. The man they choose, Hugo (Keith Allen), is found in his room dead from a drug overdose. Before they even call the police they find a suitcase full of money. Rather than do the right thing and turn it in, they decide to keep the money and get rid of the body by sawing off Hugo’s limbs and burying him in the woods. Juliet and Alex start to spend some of the money, but David starts to become more possessive of it and goes so far as to hide in the attic with it. All three friends now slowly start to distrust each other and show their true colors to the audience.
Well, that last description isn’t entirely true. The movie opens with the three of them coming off as assholes and the money only brings out the worst in their already bad personalities. When the three of them interview potential flatmates they’re mean spirited to them and even make fun of them to their faces, all while laughing at their own jokes. Our leading characters are portrayed as 20 something-year-old dicks who don’t think about their actions. But what I love is how the introduction of this suitcase full of money really shows the darker side of their already dark characters. The first part of the film has them acting like jackasses, but to them it’s all a joke and they never get hostile. But their first instinct when discovering the dead body is not to call the police, but to decide what to do about the money. It’s really telling that none of them care that their new flatmate is dead, but their more worried about the money and how to deal with the body.
And their characterization only gets darker and more serious after they do get rid of the body. David, who at first comes off as the timid type of the group, slowly starts to become more unhinged and crazy. He’s the one who saws off the hands and feet of the body and bashes his skull in, so he’s become more aware of what he has done and what he is capable of doing. This becomes more apparent when he decides to take the money in the attic and stays up their with it. He feels that since he chopped up a mans body, he has become a real man and wants to hoard the money for as long as he can. Eccleston really sells his descent into madness as he goes from playing a nerdy wimp to a genuine threat. And he gets even crazier as we learn that Hugo stole that money and now the people he stole it from are coming after it. They nearly kill Juliet and Alex getting the money, but David easily kills them and buries them along with Hugo. David has now become the villain as he terrorizes Alex and Juliet by watching their every move as he drills holes in the attic to spy on them. I can safely say that he’s no longer a wimp, but a true monster.
But David is not the only threat. Juliet is no damsel in distress as she’s just as awful as David is. She seems to have her own motivations as the movie goes on. She juggles both the affections of Alex and David so that she can get the money. I won’t spoil the end as it’s something that needs to be seen to appreciate, but her actions are so awful that she ends up being a legitimate threat. Fox is great at pretending to play a weak woman, but is really a psychotic, vindictive woman with her own selfish goals. But to me, the standout performance is McGregor as Alex. This was McGregor’s first movie role and you could tell that this man was a bona fide star. He plays such a snarky, dickish, loud brat in the first half of the film. But after the encounter with the men looking for the money and their murders, he becomes more reserved and chooses his words and actions more carefully. He knows both David and Juliet will probably end up trying to kill him, so he tries to play it cool so he can get the money. And when you figure out what his plan is in the end, it’s so satisfying and you eventually root for a character you probably shouldn’t be rooting for.
Even though the money is what’s causing the rift in these friends relationships, at no point do they decide to just get rid of the money. That’s what really interested me when watching the film again and why I explained the motivations of all three characters. At no point do any of them decide to call the police or turn in the money. All of them want the money and will do anything to keep it away from the other person. It shows that maybe these three were never really that close, or that maybe the money brings out their true colors as terrible people, or that these three represent the realities of what would happen if you found a shit ton of money. Be honest: if you found untraceable money, would you turn it in? Would you not go a little nuts deciding whether to spend it or save it? Would you stab your closest friends in the back to keep the money all to yourself? These are just a few of the many questions you ask yourself when watching Shallow Grave. For a movie that has a lot of humor, fantastic acting, taking place in either the flat or the woods, it all boils down to these very human questions. That’s what keeps me coming back and asking new questions every time I see it.
Movies for 20 Somethings 