This superb debut from Boyle shows his immediate comfort in the director's chair, with his trademark use of pop music and frenetic camerawork appearing right from the start of this wonderful crime thriller. John Hodge's script was purportedly inspired by the early work of the Coen brothers, and this story of supposedly innocent people being drawn into a more sinister world certainly feels reminiscent of much of the duo's work, but the Edinburgh setting gives this film a very different…

As far as debuts go, they don't get much better than this.

Boyle's film has a classic premise. Three friends, a dead body, a pile of cash. What do you do? As simple as it is, the execution is anything but. Boyle here shows his unique talent of creating something out of virtually nothing with fluent and sometimes visceral camerawork. He already displays expert pacing as this film never meanders and manages to keep you intrigued, revealing twist after twist,…

I recently rewatched Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs and one thing I really noticed was that I really like his early films despite being nowhere near as refined as his later works. Danny Boyle seems to apply to this aswell in that I really like how raw and rough around the edges Shallow Grave (and Trainspotting) is. The opening scene sums up exactly what I mean and why I'm such a huge fan of his work. It's very simple and rough but…

Danny Boyle's debut film just happens to be one of his finest to date. Seamlessly blending both pitch black humor with hair raising suspense, Shallow Grave never quite goes in the direction you would expect. While the characters are for the most part unlikeable, their mental instability and personal reactions to the situation makes them intersting to watch until the credits roll. It also doesn't hurt that the three characters are all equally and exceptionally well played by McGregor, Fox,…

Film #11 in Driver’s December Death Penalty AKA The December Project , which is part of Cinebro's The December Challenge. 1 month, 100 movies.

89 minutes

"I've never seen a dead body before. I saw my grandmother of course, but I don't think that counts. I mean, she was alive at the time." - David

Well, this is a strange one. With what could be a potentially run-of-the-mill thriller, a debuting Danny Boyle works wonders with a potentially hideously simple…

As I'm supposed to be going to see Trance on Monday, I wanted to watch a couple of Danny Boyle films over the weekend that I hadn't hadn't gotten around to seeing yet. Started off the weekend with this.

I really enjoyed it! So glad I started here. I thought all 3 of Ecclestone, McGregor and Fox were great in their roles. Thoroughly unlikeable characters, mind you, but really good performances nonetheless.

The plot was entertaining too, I loved how…

I didn't remember this being so good as it actually is. However, a current rewatch of the Criterion blu made me think that this is maybe my favorite from Danny Boyle.

The simplicity of it is maybe its finest asset. Most of the plot takes place in a single apartment, and the space is used to perfection. The three flatmates have a wonderful chemistry between them with just the right amount of unredeemed tension.

It is also great to watch…

After several years of work on television projects, Danny Boyle would eventually make his feature film debut with this morbidly funny tale of three friends who run into a lot of bad luck after adding the wrong person as fourth tenant of their Edinburgh flat.

All of Boyle's trademark schizophrenic camera work and editing styles are on display here, but they work more to the advantage of this material than retract against it, which is something that I think has…