Dirty Pretty Things (DVD)

Dirty Pretty Things is a gritty urban thriller set in and around the streets of London. It is a cleverly filmed film, providing a good plot with a sort of social commentary as we follow two illegal immigrants as they struggle to find some standard of life in our nation's capital. Right from the off, the most powerful part of the film is its visual effects, as shown by Okwe at the beginning, and then further on in the film by Shenay. Okwe is a Nigerian immigrant, working as a taxi driver by day and a hotel porter by night. Shenay is a maid in the hotel, and she lets Okwe sleep on her couch. There is relatively little conversation between the two of them, and it ...  Read the complete review

The topic of asylum seekers, is currently a bit of a hot potato in the UK. It seems that most people have some sort of opinion on the subject and the impression that I get is that the majority are not too sympathetic. I have grappled with the concept and have found it hard to reach a satisfactory conclusion. Like many Jews, my mother?s parents arrived in Britain in 1939, escaping Hitler's death camps by the skin of their teeth. For that I am eternally grateful. I have always found it difficult however, to be sympathetic towards economic migrants (and I stress, specifically economic migrants as opposed to political refugees). Dirty Pretty Things is not the ...  Read the complete review

In the middle of the blockbuster season, sandwiching its way between the fantasy epics Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings, comes Stephen Frears' entirely reality based tale of immigrants in London. Okwe (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is an illegal Nigerian immigrant working two jobs, the first as a minicab driver, the second at night on the reception desk of a less than reputable hotel. In the little time left for sleeping he goes to a flat belonging to Senay (Audrey Tautou), a Turkish woman seeking asylum and so barred from working, but who works as a maid in the same hotel as Okwe. He sleeps on the couch whilst she works, and at her insistance they barely see ...  Read the complete review

Dirty Pretty Things, a film from Stephen Frears (who directed the recent film The Queen) recieved high acclaim upon its release in 2002, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. It's a scintilating, if slightly convoluted film that astutely examines race relations in the UK. Okwe (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is a cab driver that works a second job at a hotel, chewing stimulants to ensure he can stay awake, and very much burning the candle at both ends. A prostitute, Juliette (Sophie Okonedo), one day asks Okwe to have a look in her toilet, and in there he finds a human heart, and discovers that organ harvesting is going on at the hotel by the ...  Read the complete review

Seventeen years after "My Beautiful Laundrette", Stephen Frears gives us another stunning cinematic portrait of London. "Dirty Pretty Things" shows us a realistic view of London that you wouldn't usually see in a British movie. It deals with the issues of illigal immagration and organ smuggling. It puts the message across that the illigal immagrants of London are the invisible people who keep its economy running smoothly. It is a great film to watch and will get you thinking throughout. The central character is Okwe (Chiwetel Ejiofor), an illegal immigrant from Nigeria. His story is told thoughout the screenplay and is well ...  Read the complete review