What filmmaking techniques does Shallow Grave use?

CineCode breaks down 5 techniques in Shallow Grave (1994): Deadpan Absurdism, Triangulated Moral Ambiguity, Voyeuristic Implication, Paranoia Spiral and Circular Structure.

Who directed Shallow Grave?

Danny Boyle directed Shallow Grave, released in 1994. CineCode also covers Trainspotting (1996), A Life Less Ordinary (1997), The Beach (2000), 28 Days Later (2002), Sunshine (2007), Slumdog Millionaire (2008).

What films are similar to Shallow Grave?

Films that share techniques with Shallow Grave include Annie Hall (1977), Fargo (1996), The Favourite (2018), Memories of Murder (2003).

Thriller · Comedy · Crime

Shallow Grave

Danny Boyle, 1994

Three flatmates in Edinburgh find their new lodger dead beside a suitcase full of cash, and decide to keep the money and hide the body. Greed and paranoia pull them apart, with some pitch-black laughs along the way. Danny Boyle's first feature shows how far a 30-day shoot and one flat can go.

3 Narrative 1 Cinematography 1 Psychology

At a glance

Shallow Grave is a 1994 thriller, comedy and crime film directed by Danny Boyle. This breakdown covers 5 techniques (3 narrative, 1 cinematography and 1 psychology), each with the scene where you can see it. If you like how it is made, Annie Hall uses several of the same techniques.

Narrative

Deadpan Absurdism

Showing extreme, violent or surreal events while the characters react as if nothing unusual is happening. That mismatch is funny and unsettling at the same time.

How this film uses it

The flatmates interview applicants for the spare room by mocking them for fun, and later plan to cut off a dead man's hands, feet and teeth with the flat calm of a chore list. The mismatch between tone and action is funny and unsettling at once.

Where to see it

Flatmate interviews: Juliet, David and Alex interview applicants in a cruel way for their own amusement, then offer the room to a mysterious man named Hugo.

Narrative

Triangulated Moral Ambiguity

Spreading good and bad qualities across 3 or more characters, where most stories use 2 sides. Nobody is purely the hero or the villain, so you can't easily pick who to root for.

How this film uses it

No one in the flat is the hero. David is timid and then violent, Juliet is calm and calculating and Alex is a flippant journalist. By the end, each one has betrayed another, and Juliet finds that the suitcase she fled with holds only newspaper clippings.

Where to see it

Drawing lots: After agreeing to keep the money, they draw lots and David gets the job of dismembering the body. Juliet disposes of the leftovers in her hospital's incinerator.

Cinematography

Voyeuristic Implication

Placing the camera like a hidden watcher, looking through peepholes, around corners and from concealed spots. You become part of the spying, which makes watching feel morally uneasy.

How this film uses it

David hides in the attic and watches his friends through holes in the floor. The camera shares his spy's view, so you feel as guilty as he is for watching. It makes the friends look like strangers.

Where to see it

Attic holes: David hides the suitcase in the attic, moves in and drills holes in the floor to watch the living space below.

Psychology

Paranoia Spiral

Building suspicion step by step, as characters feel watched or doubt those around them. The sense of being observed grows until it shapes every choice.

How this film uses it

David's fear after the break-in keeps feeding on itself. Even when he saves the others from the criminals, he is sure they are working against him, and his friends begin to fear him in return.

Where to see it

After the killings: David kills the 2 criminals with a hammer in the dark attic and dumps their bodies. Alex and Juliet worry about his mental state, and he worries that they are conspiring against him.

Narrative

Circular Structure

Ending the film where it started, or with a scene that echoes the opening. The repeat shows what has changed, or suggests the cycle will keep going.

How this film uses it

The film begins with a monologue by David, and it ends by letting him finish it. The repeat reminds you where the whole mess was heading.

Where to see it

The morgue ending: David finishes the monologue that began the film. A sheet is drawn over his face and his body is slid into a drawer.

Questions

Shallow Grave: quick answers

What filmmaking techniques does Shallow Grave use?: CineCode breaks down 5 techniques in Shallow Grave (1994): Deadpan Absurdism, Triangulated Moral Ambiguity, Voyeuristic Implication, Paranoia Spiral and Circular Structure.
Who directed Shallow Grave?: Danny Boyle directed Shallow Grave, released in 1994. CineCode also covers Trainspotting (1996), A Life Less Ordinary (1997), The Beach (2000), 28 Days Later (2002), Sunshine (2007), Slumdog Millionaire (2008).
What films are similar to Shallow Grave?: Films that share techniques with Shallow Grave include Annie Hall (1977), Fargo (1996), The Favourite (2018), Memories of Murder (2003).

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