Taglines: What’s a little murder among friends?
Shallow Grave movie storyline. David Stephens (Christopher Eccleston), a chartered accountant, Juliet Miller (Kerry Fox), a physician, and Alex Law (Ewan McGregor), a journalist, share a flat in Edinburgh. Needing a new flatmate, they interview several applicants in a calculatedly cruel manner, amusing themselves at the applicants’ expense before finally offering the room to the mysterious Hugo (Keith Allen).
Shortly after Hugo moves in, the trio find him dead from an overdose in his room with a large suitcase full of money. They agree to keep the death a secret and the money for themselves and to bury the body in the woods after removing the hands and feet to prevent identification should it be found. They draw lots and David is given the gruesome and traumatising task of dismembering the corpse, while Juliet disposes of the hands and feet in her hospital’s incinerator.
Unknown to the three friends, Hugo is being sought by a pair of violent men who are torturing and murdering informants as they follow Hugo’s trail. The flat below Alex, David, and Juliet’s is broken into, causing them much apprehension and anxiety. The break-in also draws the attention of the police, who are surprised when the three deny that they ever had a fourth flatmate.
While Juliet and Alex spend part of the money to ‘feel better’, David’s fears explode into full-blown paranoia. He hides the suitcase of money in the attic, and begins living there, drilling holes in the attic floor to watch the living space below. The relationship between the three becomes increasingly strained and distrustful, with undertones of sexual tension and rivalry.
The men trailing Hugo break into the trio’s flat and assault Alex and Juliet until they reveal where the money is. As the men enter the dark attic, David, who has been lying there in wait, kills both of them with a hammer. David returns to the woods to dispose of the bodies. Alex and Juliet become more worried than ever about David’s mental state and David becomes worried that the two are conspiring against him.
Meanwhile, the police are already circling in the form of Detective Inspector McCall (Ken Stott) and Detective Constable Mitchell (John Hodge). Juliet, hoping to flee the country, secretly buys a plane ticket to South America, but she also seduces David to get at the money. Matters come to a head after the bodies are discovered in their shallow graves and Alex is sent by his newspaper to cover the story. He returns to find Juliet and David have reached an understanding about their shared plans that excludes him.
That night, Alex, now fearing for his life, tries to secretly phone the police inspector in charge of the case, but he is interrupted by David and Juliet leaving. The doorstep altercation quickly escalates into a murderous triangular fight. David reveals he knows Juliet’s secret plan to betray them and attacks her. In the scuffle, David stabs Alex in the chest but is killed by Juliet before he can finish Alex off.
Shallow Grave is a 1994 British black comedy crime film that marked the cinematic directorial debut of Danny Boyle with an original screenplay by John Hodge. The film also provided starring roles for the then relatively little-known actors Ewan McGregor, Christopher Eccleston and Kerry Fox.
Shallow Grave (1995)
Directed by: Danny Boyle
Starring: Kerry Fox, Christopher Eccleston, Ewan McGregor, Ken Stott, Keith Allen, Colin McCredie, Victoria Nairn, Gary Lewis, Jean Marie Coffey, Peter Mullan
Screenplay by: John Hodge
Production Design by: Kave Quinn
Cinematography by: Brian Tufano
Film Editing by: Masahiro Hirakubo
Costume Design by: Kate Carin
Set Decoration by: Karen Wakefield
Art Direction by: Zoe MacLeod
Music by: Simon Boswell
MPAA Rating: R for scenes of strong grisly violence, and for some language and nudity.
Distributed by: Gramercy Pictures
Release Date: January 6, 1995 (UK), February 10, 1995 (United States)
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