"Shallow Grave"

directed by Danny Boyle starring Kerry Fox, Christopher Eccleston and Ewan McGregor Gramercy Pictures

"Shallow Grave" has all of the familiar film noir devices in place. There's a corpse, a suitcase full of money and police on the prowl. But just when it seems ready to take the money and run into the depths of noir, director Danny Boyle's edgy "Shallow Grave" cops out. The film, which has been a national sensation in England, turns into a suspenseful blood-spattered illustration of an old idea: money and lies can corrupt friendships.

The three main characters are roommates who could be the three Musketeers, except that their motto is simply, "All for one." David (Christopher Eccleston), a bland accountant, Alex (Ewan McGregor), a cocky journalist, and Juliet (Kerry Fox), a frosty doctor, all live together in a flat in urban Scotland.

The three constantly vie for power in their flat, engaging in teasing sexual innuendo. These dynamics eventually spin out of control when, saddled with an extra room, they seek a fourth flatmate. After an interview which plays more like an interrogation, they settle on Hugo (Keith Allen), who manages to die of an overdose immediately after moving in, leaving a suitcase full of pound notes under his bed.

After a couple of days, with the persistent incentive of the stinking corpse, Alex and Juliet convince David to dismember the body and enjoy the cash. Though it's never made clear what the money was for or how Hugo got it, the requisite thugs are quick to show up.

"Shallow Grave" is most original in its depiction of violence, sadism and torture. The thugs, who are thugs' thugs, do not use guns. They smash and stab with clubs and knives. But they are not alone, even the milque-toast David becomes barbaric, sawing up bodies with mad concentration. David's dramatic character change signals the flatmates' descent into a predictable spiral of paranoia.

Much of "Shallow Grave" consists of the roommates' attempts to outdo each other with perverse sexual propositions. Early on, when Juliet sticks her shoe in Alex's mouth, prompting him to kiss her ankle, it becomes obvious that they are more than just housemates. The mechanics of their friendship seem believable, but it's harder to accept their lusty rapport. Eccleston and Fox lack chemistry; their sexual interactions are stiff and unnatural.

This may not be entirely their fault. The film's fast pace precludes extensive characterization, but supplies enough suspense to almost make up for it. Boyle opens with a time-lapse sequence, heightening its effect with adrenaline-pumping disco music. He maintains "Shallow Grave's" suspenseful pace by frequently skipping several days in the roommates' increasingly chaotic lives. This disorienting technique keeps the viewer as unprepared as the conspirators for the next bout of violence.

Much of this violence takes place in the sumptuous, domestic setting of the flat. the roommates spend their illicit cash on indulgences like champagne, a video camera and other toys for use inside the flat. The contrast between the luxurious setting and the gruesome events which unfold within is riveting.

As David, Alex and Juliet sit down for dinner, two thugs break down their door and proceed to bash in Alex's shins. David even cloisters himself in the flat's loft with the money and begins to drill holes to watch his roommates through the ceiling. His freakishness mocks the viewers' own voyeuristic desires.

Although "Shallow Grave" is very much an interior drama, Boyle's breezy direction fails to convey the characters' psychological domestic claustrophobia.

"Shallow Grave" seeks to describe greed, but contains no real character analysis, and no profound insights into why ordinary people would behave like animals in the pursuit of a suitcase full of money. Boyle's final shot is haunted by the maniacal laughter of a flatmate as blood runs over the image of Queen Elizabeth's face on a bank note. It makes the viewer wonder if "Shallow Grave's" gory pandemonium is a big, shallow joke.