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MovieMail's Review
Directed by Stephen Frears from a screenplay by Steven Knight, Dirty Pretty Things is a socially-conscious thriller that provides a glimpse into the 'the people you do not see': the clandestine world of illegal immigrants and the traffickers in organ sales that exploit their desperation for profit. The film focuses on Okwe (Chiwetel Ejiofor), an illegal immigrant from Nigeria who drives a cab during the day, hustling passengers at the London airport. At night, he is a desk clerk at a multinational hotel watching all that come and go, having to chew on a medicinal root to stay awake. We find out that Okwe is a former doctor in Nigeria who sneaks medicine to his boss and fellow employees at the Cab Company to treat venereal diseases. When he makes a gruesome discovery while checking an overflowing toilet, he learns the ugly truth about what it takes in London to remain one step ahead of the Immigration police.
Okwe has a tentative relationship with Senay (Audrey Tatou), a Turkish refugee who works as a chambermaid at the same hotel in violation of her status. He uses her couch to sleep on, but something dark in his past keeps him from revealing much of himself. When Okwe finds out that Senay is willing to take risks to leave for New York, he must choose between his longing to remain free, his desire to help Senay, and his sense of integrity. The strength and dignity of the two leads carries the film and makes it a truly gripping experience that also enlightens about a well-hidden subject.
After a stint in Hollywood, Stephen Frears returned to his trademark genre with Dirty Pretty Things, a gritty thriller combining romance, mystery and suspense, about the lives of immigrant workers in London.
Highly educated Nigerian, Okwe (Chiwetel Ejiofor) can only find work in London as a taxi driver or a hotel concierge and shares a room with another illegal immigrant Senay (Audrey Tatou), who works as a maid in the hotel. They both live in fear of being caught and deported and when one night, whilst working on the front desk, Okwe is asked to check on a broken lavatory, he discovers a grisly secret. But when he tells his boss about what he saw, he is blackmailed to keep quiet and finds himself and Senay being lured into the shady underworld of illegal immigration.
Tautou and Ejiofor bring charm and warmth to their characters and a strong social message is cleverly placed between love and horror.
