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Dirty Pretty Things

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Dirty Pretty Things (2003)

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Reviews Counted:136

Fresh:128

Rotten:8

Average Rating:7.8/10

Consensus: An illuminating and nuanced film about the exploitation of illegal immigrants.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] sexual content, disturbing images and language

Runtime: 1 hr 47 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Jul 18, 2003 Limited

Box Office: $7,953,388

Synopsis: Chiwetel Ejiofor gives a remarkably understated performance in director Stephen Frears's offbeat and gripping drama DIRTY PRETTY THINGS. Ejiofor stars as Okwe, a Nigerian who is trying to make a... Chiwetel Ejiofor gives a remarkably understated performance in director Stephen Frears's offbeat and gripping drama DIRTY PRETTY THINGS. Ejiofor stars as Okwe, a Nigerian who is trying to make a new life for himself in London, where he works days as a taxi driver and nights as a hotel desk receptionist. When he discovers a human heart in a hotel-room bathroom, he cannot go to the police because he is an illegal alien with a mysterious past that he refuses to talk about. Suddenly he is thrust into the middle of a dangerous situation that threatens to have tragic results for him and those around him. French ingenue Audrey Tautou costars as a Turkish woman who has sought asylum in England, where she is allowed to live but not work. But she must make money, so she works secretly while the government tries to catch her. Benedict Wong turns in a fine supporting performance as Guo Yi, a morgue employee who shares wise and humorous sayings with Okwe, and Sergi Lopez is absolutely chilling as the amorally opportunistic hotel manager. Frears directs the unusual proceedings with a deft hand, slowly revealing secrets that are as gruesome as they are poignant. [More]

Starring: Chjwetel Ejiofor, Audrey Tautou, Sergi Lopez, Sophie Okonedo

Starring: Chjwetel Ejiofor, Audrey Tautou, Sergi Lopez, Sophie Okonedo, Zlatko Buric, Benedict Wong

Director: Stephen Frears

Director: Stephen Frears
Screenwriter: Steven Knight
Producer: Tracey Seaward, Robert Jones
Composer: Nathan Larson
Screenwriter: Stephen Morris
Studio: Miramax Films

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Release:

Mar 23, 2004

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • Dirty Pretty Things
  • From Stephen Frears, the Oscar(R)-nominated director of THE GRIFTERS (Best Director, 1990) and DANGEROUS LIAISONS, DIRTY PRETTY THINGS stars Audrey Tautou (AMELIE) in a harrowing tale of struggle and survival for two immigrants who learn that everything is for sale in London's secret underworld! Part of an invisible working class, Nigerian exile Okwe (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Turkish chambermaid Senay (Tautou) toil at a west London hotel that is full of illegal activity. Then late one night Okwe makes a shocking discovery, which creates an impossible dilemma and tests the limits of all they know! Honored with numerous European film awards and nominations -- including wins at the London Critics Circle Film Awards and the Venice Film Festival -- you'll find this gritty urban thriller to be thoroughly engrossing and impossible to forget!
  • Source: Buena Vista Home Entertainment.
  •  
     
     
     

    Reviews for Dirty Pretty Things

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    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
    10/18/08
    Urban Cinefile Critics
    Urban Cinefile Critics
    Urban Cinefile

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
    08/07/08
    Mark Halverson
    Mark Halverson
    Sacramento News & Review

    Here he strikes a perfect balance between social commentary and melodrama, while nudging his actors to turn potentially stereotypical figures (eg, a virginal waif, a golden-hearted whore, a philosophical Chinese) into three-dimensional people.

    Full Review Source: Observer [UK] | comment Comment
    11/27/07
    Philip French
    Philip French
    Observer [UK]

    An intelligent and extremely well-made romantic drama that tells an intriguing story with economy and insight.

    Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
    11/27/07
    David Stratton
    David Stratton
    Variety
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    An impressive mix of entertainment and social comment, spinning a great mystery even as it confronts an ugly world.

    Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
    11/27/07
    J. R. Jones
    J. R. Jones
    Chicago Reader
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound | comment Comment
    07/14/07
    Joe Lozito
    Joe Lozito
    Big Picture Big Sound

    Dirty Pretty Things benefits from the best script...hands down, written for a movie released in 2003

    Full Review Source: Perihelion Journal | comment Comment
    08/21/06
    Jay Antani
    Jay Antani
    Perihelion Journal

    A sympathetic, engaging and politically astute slice of modern urban realism, set in the twilight world of London's community of recent immigrants and asylum seekers, and directed with Frears' habitual professionalism and sensitivity.

    Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
    01/26/06
    Wally Hammond
    Wally Hammond
    Time Out

    Offers a frills-free meditation on the many faces of oppression.

    Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
    12/06/05
    Rick Kisonak
    Rick Kisonak
    Film Threat

    It's involving, well-directed and well-acted.

    Full Review Source: NYC Film Critic | comment Comment
    03/05/05
    Ethan Alter
    Ethan Alter
    NYC Film Critic

    Weaving threads of classic thrillers through this gritty realistic context, Frears satisfies our desire for a good story.

    Full Review Source: Looking Closer | comment Comment
    01/15/05
    Jeffrey Overstreet
    Jeffrey Overstreet
    Looking Closer

    ...an incredibly entertaining picture with a first-rate ensemble cast. It seems to unwind at precisely the right pace, and its gritty look is never ostentatiously "beautiful"

    Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
    01/08/05
    Philip Martin
    Philip Martin
    Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

    The less you know the more you’ll enjoy it.

    Full Review Source: tonymedley.com | comment Comment
    10/07/04
    Tony Medley
    Tony Medley
    tonymedley.com

    Even when bad things happen to these people, one can't help but believe that things will one day get better.

    Full Review Source: Oscar Guy | comment Comment
    09/05/04
    Wesley Lovell
    Wesley Lovell
    Oscar Guy

    The synchronicity between script, stars and cinematography falls square on the shoulders of Frears, however, and he fully realizes the potential.

    Full Review Source: Las Vegas CityLife | comment Comment
    05/21/04
    Matt Kelemen
    Matt Kelemen
    Las Vegas CityLife

    When is a thriller not a thriller? When British director Stephen Frears makes it.

    Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
    04/27/04
    John J. Puccio
    John J. Puccio
    DVDTown.com

    It’s the didactic dialogue... and the plot contrivances... that might produce snickers.

    Full Review Source: Film-Forward.com | comment Comment
    04/16/04
    Kent Turner
    Kent Turner
    Film-Forward.com

    A quirky, gritty look at life in the London underworld where immigrants work crappy jobs and trade kidneys for citizenship.

    Full Review Source: Reno Gazette-Journal | comment Comment
    03/25/04
    Mark Robison
    Mark Robison
    Reno Gazette-Journal

    Like a dark, grimy version of Casablanca.

    Full Review Source: Window to the Movies | comment Comment
    01/17/04
    Jeffrey Chen
    Jeffrey Chen
    Window to the Movies

    Like Ejiofor’s role, Dirty Pretty Things is nonpareil; they remain in a league of their own. They also belong in a small league for 2003: that which may not be missed.

    Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
    12/31/03
    Greg Muskewitz
    Greg Muskewitz
    eFilmCritic.com
     
     
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