Shallow Grave

When their mysterious new flatmate suffers a fatal overdose, David, Alex and Juliet (Eccleston, McGregor and Fox) find a fortune in bank notes stashed in his room. They quickly resolve to keep the money, but nothing comes for free, and the price here involves not only dismemberment and burial, but the trio's trust, sanity and friendship. This impressively assured, highly accomplished British feature doesn't dwell on moral niceties, but goes straight for the gut. John Hodge's screenplay has the kind of unrelenting forward momentum and close-to-the bone sense of purpose which sees you safely through a good many logical minefields, even if nagging question marks occur in retrospect. Given that most of the action takes place in the flat, it's remarkable how agile and invigorating Boyle's direction is. As the friends fall out, the movie loses some of its black comic edge, perhaps, but only to gain in sheer, back-stabbing, bloody-minded mayhem.