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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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    1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating)
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    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
    08/15/03
    St. Louis Post-Dispatch
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
    08/09/03
    Boston Phoenix
    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

    Although the film delves into an interesting topic -- black marketeers trading in human flesh -- the approach is far too clinical.

    Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
    08/15/03
    Bill Muller
    Bill Muller
    Arizona Republic
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Phony and unmoving.

    Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
    08/17/03
    Dennis Schwartz
    Dennis Schwartz
    Ozus' World Movie Reviews

    Frears ensures that Dirty Pretty Things is, well, pretty to look at, but has a more difficult time deciding whether it’s drama or comedy he’s after.

    Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
    05/16/03
    Ed Gonzalez
    Ed Gonzalez
    Slant Magazine

    The film suffers from a screenplay full of labored attempts at wit by Steven Knight, and characters who barely make it off the page alive.

    Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
    07/16/03
    Ella Taylor
    Ella Taylor
    L.A. Weekly

    [Frears] can't keep his eye on the ball.

    Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
    07/19/03
    Jack Mathews
    Jack Mathews
    New York Daily News
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Just another unconventional romance about organ removal.

    Full Review Source: Planet Sick-Boy | comment Comment
    07/18/03
    Jon Popick
    Jon Popick
    Planet Sick-Boy

    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

    Things is jammed with banner-ready political rhetoric, and the relentlessness of the lectures is wearying.

    Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
    07/17/03
    Lisa Schwarzbaum
    Lisa Schwarzbaum
    Entertainment Weekly
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Spotlighting an underclass rarely seen on film, this is one of the most beguiling British films this year.

    Full Review Source: FilmFour.com | comment Comment
    12/17/02
    FilmFour.com

    A very un-Amelie Tautou shows off great dramatic realism as the movie strikes a fresh balance between being a thriller, social commentary and being strangely funny.

    Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
    07/19/03
    E! Online

    a stark portrayal of class warfare played out as an elegant game of chess

    Full Review Source: Killer Movie Reviews | comment Comment
    05/25/03
    Andrea Chase
    Andrea Chase
    Killer Movie Reviews

    Frears' vision of London's invisible work force is never less than captivating and warmly sympathetic, and Ejiofor's performance is a portrait of exhausted dignity that will stick with you for years.

    Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
    07/19/03
    Andrew O'Hehir
    Andrew O'Hehir
    Salon.com
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Makes an eloquent case for the plight of illegals, a message delivered without preaching, but couched in the form of first-class movie entertainment.

    Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
    07/17/03
    Arthur Lazere
    Arthur Lazere
    culturevulture.net

    In 'Dirty Pretty Things,' filmmakers weave complex story threads into a cinematic tapestry of fear, suspense and compassion.

    Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews | comment Comment
    12/19/03
    Betty Jo Tucker
    Betty Jo Tucker
    ReelTalk Movie Reviews

    Your fingernails will still be chewed to the bone.

    Full Review Source: Modamag.com | comment Comment
    08/22/03
    Brian Orndorf
    Brian Orndorf
    Modamag.com

    Dirty Pretty Things is a movie with Things to Say on an Important Issue...but one whose political intentions have not overpowered its quietly gripping story.

    Full Review Source: AboutFilm.com | comment Comment
    07/22/03
    Carlo Cavagna
    Carlo Cavagna
    AboutFilm.com

    Director Stephen Frears always has been good at exploring life's hidden corners. He proves it once again in Dirty Pretty Things, an intense and thoughtful thriller set in a world that's virtually invisible to society at large.

    Full Review Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal | comment Comment
    08/22/03
    Carol Cling
    Carol Cling
    Las Vegas Review-Journal
     
     
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