Barnes & Noble

Stripped to its basics, Dirty Pretty Things is a thriller involving the black-market trade in human organs removed from impoverished but willing victims. But in telling the story, director Stephen Frears paints a much richer picture than a typical thriller: His bleak depiction of contemporary London shows a city where members of the immigrant working class toil for low wages in menial positions and suffer extraordinary indignities just for the privilege of making a living in a free country. One such person is Okwe (played by Chiwetel Ejiofor), an exiled Nigerian doctor who drives a cab by day and mans a hotel desk by night. His roommate Senay (Audrey Tautou) works as both a maid and a sweatshop garment worker, and she's sorely tempted to sell one of her kidneys to the hotel bell captain, "Sneaky" (Sergi Lopez). Sneaky runs an organ trade that is thriving because his donors are the poorest illegal immigrants, people who don't dare go to the authorities for fear of being deported. London here is not the city of Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Piccadilly Circus, and bustling pubs; it's a city of shabby tenements, run-down factories, and grimy markets. With the exception of some immigration officials, the characters are all foreign nationals, some of whom believe their lengthier tenures in England entitle them to bully and brutalize the newer arrivals. Screenwriter Steve Knight received an Oscar nomination for this gripping, original story, and it's not hard to see why. Although dark and dingy throughout, Dirty Pretty Things is a bright cinematic gem. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

Director Stephen Frears returns to the grittier themes of his earlier films for the urban thriller Dirty Pretty Things. Residing in London, the medically trained Okwe (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is a Nigerian immigrant working as a taxi driver and a hotel concierge, but he still lives on the edge of poverty. He shares a room with Senay (Amélie's Audrey Tautou making her English-language debut), a Turkish refugee who works as a maid at the hotel. As illegal immigrants, Okwe and Senay live in fear of being deported. One night, working at the front desk, Okwe receives a call from prostitute Juliette (Sophie Okonedo) to check a broken toilet, where he makes a horrifying discovery. He reports it to the manager Sneaky (Sergi Lopez), who blackmails Okwe into staying quiet about it. Okwe soon discovers the presence of a shady business operation that sends him into the seedy London underworld. Senay becomes lured in with hopes of being able to fund her escape to America. Dirty Pretty Things marks the screenwriting debut of Steve Knight, co-creator of the game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Andrea LeVasseur

Product Details

• UPC: 786936232073
• Source: MIRAMAX
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Theatre Wide-Screen (1.85.1)
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
• Language: English, Français
• Subtitles: English
• Time: 1:37:00
• Sales Rank: 30,888

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