How is social class represented in Shallow Grave?

Danny Boyle uses many methods to present social class. He does this by the use of sound. Non-diegetic sounds, like the soundtrack to this scene, imply a certain volume of class; a swinging jazz beat accompanies the shot of the suitcase full of money on the table, which signifies a change of fortune. This also changes the atmosphere. However there is a downside to this as they are left with a dead body in the spare room. The soundtrack continues whilst the scene cuts to Alex on the phone representing how not only the audience feel the change in fortune but also the characters. The diegetic sounds include the cocky tone to Alex’s voice. This accentuates in particular his change in class as before he is shown to be the lowest class out of the three. When Juliet is at work and her colleague mentions “that guy who died last week” it creates tension, which wouldn’t usually be there in her line of work as it is a common occurrence. She is a doctor, which presents intelligence, and would experience people dying every day.

Mise-en-scene is effectively used in Shallow Grave in several techniques. One example is the choice of props used to portray the protagonist’s backgrounds. Juliet is seen sipping on a glass of red wine giving the impression of a higher social class than Alex, who is there having a cigarette. Another example of this is how Boyle has chosen to layout the apartment; it is spacious considering that there are only three people that live there and it is also very well kept and clean bearing in mind the three protagonist are of young age. This presents to the audience that the three characters are professionals in their line of work; Juliet is a nurse, Alex is a journalist and David is a chartered accountant. Furthermore they are continuously dressed according to their profession. For instance David is considered boring stereotypical to his career; he is dressed in a smart suit and when offered a new case he replies to his boss: “You think I’m boring?” In addition to this Hugo, when his body is found, is wrapped in the red sheets of his bed. This colour implies luxury and shows the audience their standard of living.

One of the key elements that help this film to seemingly display social class is cinematography. The scene begins with a medium close-up of the suitcase on the table, which pans closer in. This shows the change in class and the way the camera zooms in on the suitcase emphasises this also. Towards the end of this scene we see an extreme high angle of David walking up the stairs to the flat. Following this David enters the room in an aggressive fashion. Both of these suggest that because he is of upper class he cannot accept the money and wants to inform the police of the body.

The use of editing that Boyle chooses to include is very interesting in this scene and in particular: the montage effect. The camera shots change between the dead body and each of the protagonists at their individual job. This shows the audience how Hugo’s body is affecting their everyday lives because it is constantly on each of their minds. However contradictory to this, at the end of the scene when David walks in, the editing is slow to cut showing how composed Alex and Juliet remain considering there is a dead man in their flat and they have effectively stolen hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Overall, as the audience, we see the effects of Hugo’s body and the money left behind on the characters social class. Not only is this but the viewer is able to see their reactions and how they cope with moving higher in class. This compares the individuals social classes in the present contrasted to the beginning of the film, where the three protagonists are portrayed as hard-working perhaps middle class people.