just watch it!

Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

As far as craft is concerned, Shallow Grave is an impressive film. Danny Boyle is a stylish filmmaker and despite the fact that this is his first directorial effort, that style shines through. This is a very good-looking film with excellent set design and color scheming, as well as great camera-work. There's also an undeniable giddiness and energy to the film. It feels like the product of a talented guy who loves movies and has finally been given the opportunity to make his own; he's having fun, and it's infectious.It really is a shame then that I couldn't get into this. For all of its style and unique energy, this movie ultimately failed to engage on an intellectual or emotional level. There are potentially good themes at work here as we see these three friends devolve into increasingly nefarious behavior: greed, corruption, and the inability to trust even those closest to you. But ultimately these themes aren't so much explored as they are presented. I don't feel as if I've gained any insight into the dark impulses of man as the credits roll, even if I have been shown them.Perhaps the reason for this is my inability to really get on board with these characters. The performances themselves are actually quite good, with Ewan McGregor in particular giving a great portrayal of Alex which (intentional or not) is reminiscent of Malcolm McDowell as another (more memorable) Alex. However, I never felt like I really understood these characters or their motivations. They were introduced to be relatively immature and cruel in the beginning of the film as they torment some prospective roommates, but they essentially go from 0 to 60 from there without much setup. It wasn't so much a descent into criminality as a leap off of a cliff, which felt at odds with the fact that at least two of the three main characters were clearly well- off, intelligent, and successful (doctor and accountant). The film tries to make a grand statement - at the outset it claims that the actions we are about to witness are things that any individual is capable of, even those who we would typically trust or deem honorable. It tries to reveal the primal, selfish nature of humans and the potential corrupting power of greed. But that theme doesn't ring true because of the lack of setup given to these characters. The quickness with which they jump to the heinous crimes they commit gives the impression that they were already morally compromised and sadistic to begin with. It doesn't feel like I'm watching average, decent people who have been seduced to violence by greed. Rather, I feel like I'm watching the story of these three specific opportunists who already lack empathy for others and, not surprisingly, spiral downwards when put in the situation that the film sets up. The universality of the theme just doesn't land.So then, what if you just forget the failed thematic goal and view the film as just that - a stylish thriller about three bad friends doing bad things? I think your mileage will still vary. There just wasn't enough intrigue in the plot for it to really hold the film up on its own accord, and the characters aren't colorful or fleshed-out enough to stand next to similar creations like the aforementioned Alex DeLarge. Beyond the style, great visuals, and giddy energy, the film just doesn't have much else going for it.

This is really interesting movie, and I like this movie very much. I like Ewan McGregor and Danny Boyle's movie.This movie is about three young people. They are friends and live together. A great deal of money always breaks some important things for people. Friendship, reliance, and yourself. Things which is broken by money are never recovered. These three characters are thinking only about oneself pretending to help each other. But I think that is human nature. They betrays each other to the end of the story. The way they go mad is terrible, but interesting.

"Shallow Grave" is a thriller that challenges you based on how you feel about the characters. Since we are aware early on that the characters in this movie – nee, the heroes – are unlikable and snobbish, that kind of puts us at a distance. Our concern for their safety is thus pushed away. That pulls the rug out from under the whole film.The story is intriguing. Three twerpy snobs, David Stephens (Christopher Eccleston), an accountant, Juliet (Kerry Fox) and Alex (Ewan McGregor) share a roomy flat in Edinburgh and decide to rent out the spare room. During the (somewhat mean-spirited) application process, they have a blast poking fun at the potential applicants. Finally one suits their fancy, an older man named Keith who not only gets the room but catches Juliet"s eye.The next day they find Keith dead in his room. Searching the room, they find a suitcase filled with a mountain of cash. What to do with it? No one besides the three roommates knows that Keith has been there so they decide to cut up the body and split the cash among themselves.This easier said then done. First is deciding who will cut him up, where they will take the pieces, whether anyone suspects them and whether or not they trust one another. The situation snowballs out of control as one bad turn becomes another and the three become more and more paranoid.This is not exactly a new idea. The story was told better by the Coen Brothers in "Blood Simple" and in "Fargo" with more of a twist of human nature in Sam Raimi"s "A Simple Plan". But those films were done with a sense of the characters. They used a visual style and in the case of Raimi"s film they used likable people who were suddenly finding themselves doing things that they never thought imaginable.This movie was directed by Danny Boyle who somehow made likable characters out of heroine addicts with his breakthrough film 'Trainspotting". But 'Shallow Grave" is a movie that depends on how we feel about people who find themselves doing horrible things to feed their own greed. The closer they get to being caught, the more we have to care about them in order to feel for them. This unwholesome trio is not exactly a group that you would want to spend five minutes with much less care about their fate.** (of four)

This singular Shallow Grave, first feature for Danny Boyle and the first of his three collaborations with Ewan McGregor, already showed in 1994 all the potential of the English director.The premise, everybody imagined at least once, is relatively simple but the script of this tragedy unfolds in an implacable way from start to finish, in an intriguing and heavy atmosphere that captivates the viewer. The characters composing this trio are complementary and each evolve differently until the ultra cynical final outcome punctuated with an unsuspected mini twist.However, the movie could be blamed for what also makes its strength, which is his absurd aspect maybe a bit too absurd. Moreover, the editing could have deserved a bit more coherence.