Dirty Pretty Things

views updated

Dirty Pretty Things ★★★½ 2003 (R)

Frears revisits the theme of the plight of illegal immigrants living in London with typically moving results. Okwe (Ejiofor), a doctor who was forced to flee his native Nigeria, is now scraping by as a hotel clerk and cabbie in London, where he befriends his Turkish co-worker Senay (Tautou), a chambermaid who later is forced into sweatshop labor and a compromising relationship with her new boss. Already living in fear of being caught by immigration agents, Okwe discovers an illegal organ-selling ring at the hotel. Engagingly illuminates the mysterious and tense underworld inhabited by illegals and those who seek to exploit them in this surprisingly effective thriller. Ejiofor delivers the goods in a darkly subtle turn while Tautou delightfully broadens her range. 107m/C VHS, DVD . GB Chiwetel Ejiofor, Audrey Tautou, Sergi Lopez, Sophie Okonedo, Zlatko Bur-ic, Benedict Wong; D: Stephen Frears; W: Steven Knight; C: Chris Menges; M: Nathan Larson.

More From encyclopedia.com