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.

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.