Cinema Eye - Movie News & Reviews
Untitled Page
  Top Links
Top Picks DVD Rental
Top Picks Home Cinema
Top Picks Broadband
Top Picks BlueRay
Top Picks Ringtones
Top Picks Gifts
Top Picks Casino
Top Picks DVD
Top Picks Plasma TV

Dirty Pretty Things (2003)


Director:
Cast:
Country:
Year: 2003
Score:
MPAA Rating:

Director: Stephen Frears
Starring: Chjwetel Ejiofor, Audrey Tautou

SYNOPSIS:
Okwe (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is an illegal immigrant in London, working hard at two jobs just to scrape by. He chews on illegal herbs to stay awake. By day he drives a cab. At night he is a porter at a hotel. He rents a couch in the tiny apartment of another immigrant, Senay (Audrey Tautou). One night, his carefully maintained routine is shattered when he discovers a human heart clogging the drain of a toilet at the hotel. His discovery sets into motion a chain of events that will test his character and force him to come to grips with his mysterious past.

image

REVIEW:
Director Stephen Frears has made some very interesting films spanning a variety of genres. He always hits pretty close to his mark. This time he hits it dead on. Dirty Pretty Things is a tense thriller, filled with real people we care about and set in a vividly realistic environment. London’s underworld is depicted as a vibrant network of beat-up people forced to rely on each other in order to survive. Frears throws us into this world with little explanation and forces us to figure it out as the story movies along.

Frears deftly handles the social commentary aspect which could have easily ruined this film. Since the film is set in the underground world of illegal immigrants, Frears could have taken the easy way out and used melodramatic techniques to make us feel sorry for these poor people. However, instead of depicting the characters as things to be pitied, Frears depicts them as hard-working, resilient people with a humanistic optimism for life.

This tough resiliency is epitomised in Okwe. I haven’t seen Chiwetel Ejiofor in anything prior to Dirty Pretty Things, but his performance here truly marks him as one to watch. Okwe is a immigrant from Nigeria where he worked as a doctor. Because of his status in London, he is forced to do menial jobs that are looked down upon by people far less intelligent than he is. As the story unfolds and Okew is force to confront his past and make some very difficult decisions, the agony Ejiofor brings to the role radiates from the screen.

The rest of the movie seems perfectly cast as well. Audrey Tautou is as cute as ever as Senay. I believe this is her first English language role. Senay has developed feelings for Okwe, but she is unsure of how to express them. This is another element that could have overwhelmed the rest of the film, but Tautou plays it perfectly. 

Dirty Pretty Things doesn’t pander on any level. It doesn’t sensationalize the relationship between Okwe and Senay. It doesn’t turn the plight of London’s immigrants into a maudlin sob story. It is first and foremost a highly effective thriller. But it is set in a very real world that most of us haven’t seen before. By walking this fine line, it opens our eyes and entertains us at the same time.


Review by: Cinema Eye

No Responses to Dirty Pretty Things

Why don't you leave one?

Recent News Recent News

Best Bets of The Week
Fantasia - Prize Winners
Maury Chaykin Dies
Opening The Week of Jul 30
Cinematheque Ontario presents - Eric Rohmer
Preview of TIFF 2010 Films (Gala and Specials)
Fantasia - More News
Weekend Box Office (Jul 23-25) Estimates

Recent News Current Reviews

Dinner for Schmucks
Countdown to Zero
Gasland
Salt
Ramona and Beezus
Inception
Restrepo
Sweetgrass
Mr. Nobody
I Am Love
The Sorcerer's Apprentice
Act of Dishonour
Despicable Me
Les Herbes Folles
Predators
The Girl who played with Fire
The Kids are All Right
A Place Called Los Pereyra
Cyrus
Tehroun
Fuel
Pax Americana: The Weaponization of Space
The Last Airbender
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Love Ranch
Cinema Eye >> Movie News | Movie Reviews | Forums | Asian Fever | Information
Archives >> News | Reviews | Site
EYEBALL media network  | Cinema Eye | Home Cinema Reviews
RSS FEED
© 1998-2009, Cinema Eye, All rights reserved | Contact CinemaEye