Not a director who can be pinned down to a single style or genre, but almost everything Boyle tries seems to come out well. One of the UK's most prominent contemporary directors, sporting an oeuvre full of pleasant surprises.
Movies
Boyle's breakthrough film is pretty crude and edgy, but it's also a cinematic wonderland about a bunch of drug-craving friends, drenched in thick accents and presented with plenty of wit.
Slumdog Millionaire works on all levels. While it starts off as a light drama it ends as a pure feel-good film and has no trouble making it work.
Sunshine is a superb example of how genre cinema can be elevated when the hand of an author is added to the mix, though ever so slightly.
Danny Boyle's early 00 horror film that helped to breathe new life into the zombie genre. The crappy DV quality of the film is inescapable, but within those confines Boyle created a tense, sharp and engaging little horror film that still stands proud.
T2 Trainspotting is a damn good companion piece to the first film.
What does a famed director do when he's asked to direct the opening ceremony of the Olympics, but feels a little bored in between? Why he just shoots another film of course, and that's exactly what Danny Boyle set out to do. The result? Trance. A modern, slick and fast-paced mind bender sprinkled with a moderate but pleasing touch of Boyle's magic. Even though at its core Trance is a very British film, Boyle assembled quite an international cast. James McAvoy takes up the lead role (and seems to act as a direct replacement for Ewan McGregor), Vincent Cassel shines as one of the main bad guys and Rosario Dawson flutters in between these two without a clear sense of moral. They form a strong trio, giving a little extra shine to a rather tepid and tested background story. Boyle's Trance misses the urgency, tension and mystery of a truly engaging mind/clusterfuck, but makes up for that in other departments. Visually there's a lot to enjoy here. The ultramodern setting is captured beautifully, with lots of attention to color, lighting and reflections. The soundtrack is pretty interesting too, typical Boyle material blending rock and dance music, timed to perfection. Add some unexpected gory bits and a lack of general prudeness and you have a pretty slick thriller that waltzes through its 90 minutes. It's a shame Boyle loses it a little in between the highlights, as he never truly succeeds in gelling everything together. The climax too is a little underwhelming, but the actual ending is strong and there are more than enough memorable scenes to make this worth your time. It's not Boyle at his best, but for a film that was conceived as filler it's a lot better than I expected it to be. Read all
A simple but fun start to Danny Boyle's career. It's not the first film where a group of friends turns paranoid after a dark secret rips their friendship apart, and Boyle's direction isn't quite confident enough to set it apart from like-minded films, but the humor and entertainment value keep the film afloat. Fox and McGregor are a lot of fun, the setup is amusing and even though there aren't any real twists, the pacing and limited runtime make sure the film never starts to drag or loses its momentum. Boyle still had to cover a large gap to get to Trainspotting, but if you want to see the first shimmers of his talent, you can't really go wrong with this one.Read all
Boyle's first trip to the US, together with partner in crime McGregor. I used to like this film a lot, a few decades later it doesn't feel quite as special anymore, but it's still an entertaining and quirky film. There's some of that typical Boyle charm present, but it's held back by Hollywood's limitations. Diaz isn't the right fit, Hunter is a pretty big miscast too, but I liked the premise and the caricatural nature of the cast. McGregor steals the show and Boyle's direction feels light and fresh. It's just that there aren't many scenes that manage to leave a lasting impression. It's a good film, but not a great one.Read all
Fine but safe romantic fantasy that has an interesting premise, but doesn't do a whole lot with it. People hoping to see some of the old Boyle magic will be slightly disappointed, apart from Patel the casting is a little weak and the film has trouble making the premise 100% convincing. It's not a bad film, but with the material at hand it could and should have been better.
Danny Boyle takes a stab at the wonderfully depraved world of the door-to-door vacuum salesman. If you hadn't heard of this film before, it's because this is a rather obscure TV project he did for the BBC some two decades ago. Though not very polished, it does have that early Boyle vibe, so fans of his work should definitely give it a go. Boyle's vibrant and energetic style is fully there, the budget and time for the necessary polish wasn't. Spall's extravagant performance makes up for that, so does the somewhat dark and juicy comedy, but the film never truly escapes its TV roots. It's a short and fun diversion that's certainly good for a couple of laughs and chuckles, but it probably would've worked better as a shorter film in an anthology like The Acid House. Read all
