RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
RT's Blu-ray HQ
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Dirty Pretty Things
Dirty Pretty Things

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Visit Official Site External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Dirty Pretty Things (2003)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
94 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

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

[See More Credits]

  • Trailers
  • Pictures
1 - 5 of 7

See More Movie Trailers & Pictures

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
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

    • T-Meter Critics
    • Top Critics
    • RT Community
    • My Critics
    • My Friends
    • DVD
     
     
    41 - 60 (sorted by date)
    Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
    Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
     
     

    Believe it or not – it is a lot of fun to watch – despite the eerie subject matter.

    Full Review Source: KBTV-NBC (Beaumont, TX) | comment Comment
    08/25/03
    Danny Minton
    Danny Minton
    KBTV-NBC (Beaumont, TX)

    These are characters that draw you in and make you care, making it impossible to pull away.

    Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee | comment Comment
    08/22/03
    Joe Baltake
    Joe Baltake
    Sacramento Bee

    In the grand tradition of visceral fiction, a physical response to a spiritual injustice.

    Full Review Source: Orlando Weekly | comment Comment
    08/22/03
    Steve Schneider
    Steve Schneider
    Orlando Weekly

    This is the sort of film that requires your full attention -- and then amply rewards it with a wealth of nuances.

    Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment Comment
    08/22/03
    Jay Boyar
    Jay Boyar
    Orlando Sentinel

    Lopez has so often been cast as an affable Teddy Bear that it's a real treat to see him inhabit this amoral schemer.

    Full Review Source: Kansas City Star | comment Comment
    08/22/03
    Robert W. Butler
    Robert W. Butler
    Kansas City Star

    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

    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

    Too didactic by half, but when it works it pulses with a bracing nihilism.

    Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
    08/20/03
    Walter Chaw
    Walter Chaw
    Film Freak Central

    The film is awfully good at the chess of life, and its driven moves are topped by sentiment that is not only forgivable but entirely earned.

    Full Review Source: San Diego Union-Tribune | comment Comment
    08/19/03
    David Elliott
    David Elliott
    San Diego Union-Tribune

    Dirty Pretty Things is flawed, but worth seeing for Ejiofor alone.

    Full Review Source: San Diego Metropolitan | comment Comment
    08/18/03
    Jean Lowerison
    Jean Lowerison
    San Diego Metropolitan

    Phony and unmoving.

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

    Employs a disturbing mystery to frame a broader tale of international injustice, a poignant plea for open door border policies that lingers long after the credits roll.

    Full Review Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle | comment Comment
    08/15/03
    Jack Garner
    Jack Garner
    Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

    Ejiofor, a veteran British stage actor, is well cast.

    Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
    08/15/03
    Jeff Strickler
    Jeff Strickler
    Minneapolis Star Tribune

    The casting is ... dead on.

    Full Review Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | comment Comment
    08/15/03
    Duane Dudek
    Duane Dudek
    Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

    It is Frears' sure directorial hand, along with some deft performances, that keeps Dirty Pretty Things from ever edging into the risible.

    Full Review Source: Miami Herald | comment Comment
    08/15/03
    Rene Rodriguez
    Rene Rodriguez
    Miami Herald

    This is a sordid story but ultimately not a depressing one.

    Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
    08/15/03
    Eric Harrison
    Eric Harrison
    Houston Chronicle
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Few movies create such perfect pitch among character, plot and setting.

    Full Review Source: Denver Post | comment Comment
    08/15/03
    Vic Vogler
    Vic Vogler
    Denver Post

    Dirty Pretty Things benefits from deft direction, substantive plotting, and likable leads.

    Full Review Source: Movie Boeuf | comment Comment
    08/15/03
    David N. Butterworth
    David N. Butterworth
    Movie Boeuf
    N/R

    Click to read the article

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

    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
     
     
    41 - 60 (sorted by date)
    Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
    all

    Latest News for Dirty Pretty Things

    November 28, 2007: Total Recall: Malice and Medicine
    Imagine what it might be like if you needed surgery.  You're more than a little nervous about the whole idea.  In fact when you think about it, you'll admit you're... More...

    May 19, 2006: Naomi & Viggo to Make "Promises" with Cronenberg
    After "A History of Violence," a whole bunch of us want to know what David Cronenberg's next project will be, and it looks like it'll be something called "Eastern... More...

    February 15, 2006: Cronenberg to Make Some "Eastern Promises"
    True, he just signed on last week to direct a flick called "Maps to the Stars," but there's certainly nothing wrong with lining up the next gig while that awards buzz... More...

    August 24, 2005: Danny Boyle's "Sun" Begins to Shine
    Thanks to ComingSoon.net for sharing a press release from Fox Searchlight regarding Danny Boyle's "Sunshine" -- and the fact that it began shooting yesterday. More...

    See All

    More DVDs

    Close
    Top Rentals
    Tomatometer Percentage Movie
    36% 36% Angels & Demons
    25% 25% Four Christmases
    68% 68% Funny People
    95% 95% Star Trek
    14% 14% The Ugly Truth

    More Rentals…

    New On DVD This Week
    Tomatometer Percentage Movie
    83% 83% Harry Potter and the H…
    67% 67% Public Enemies
    75% 75% Julie & Julia
    95% 95% The Cove
    85% 85% World's Greatest Dad

    More New Releases…

    RT On Current TV

    DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196

    What’s Hot On RT

    Disney Countdown

    Disney Countdown

    Look back on Disney's best animated movies!

    RT's Gift Guide

    RT's Gift Guide

    Give the best movies, gear, and more!

    Jason Reitman

    Jason Reitman

    The Up in the Air director's Five Faves

    The Blind Side

    The Blind Side

    Did you see it? Rate and review it here!

    Other News

    Close
    • Top Stories
    • Popular
    • Interviews
     
     

    Comments

     
     
    Top Stories
    Headlines Comments
      
    • Peter Jackson Talks Hobbit, LotR Blu-ray Source: Collider.com
    5
    • Woman Jailed for Filming New Moon Screening Source: Chicago Sun-Times
    5
    • McG Has Plans for Fifth and Sixth Terminator Movies Source: Gizmodo
    24
    • Spielberg Hops Away from Harvey Source: Variety
    22
    • Tarantino Could Have Directed Green Lantern Source: MTV
    24
    • Will Duvall be Gilliam's Don Quixote? Source: Collider.com
    26
    • No Hobbit Until 2012? Source: The Wrap
    22
    • Don't Hold Your Breath for Hancock 2 Source: HitFix
    42
    • Peter Berg Talks Battleship Source: CHUD
    2
    • Summit Ponders Twilight Finale Source: Variety
    162
    Popular
    Headlines Comments
      
    • Total Recall: Natalie Portman's Best Movies
    79
    • Five Favorite Films with Jason Reitman
    55
    • Critics Consensus: Everybody's Fine Is Just OK
    50
    • 10 Horrifically Profitable Films
    46
    • Sundance 2010: RT's 10 Most Anticipated Movies
    41
    • Five Favorite Films with Jesse Ventura
    40
    • Weekly Ketchup: Tron Team to Remake The Black Hole
    37
    • Awards Tour: National Board of Review Winners List!
    28
    • Friday Harvest: Iron Man 2, Harry Potter, and more!
    24
    • RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Terminator Salvation and a Smithsonian Battle
    22
    Interviews
    Headlines Comments
      
    • Director Ruben Fleischer Talks Zombieland
    2
    • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
    17
    • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
    12
    • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
    23
    • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
    8
    • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
    15
    • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
    22
    • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
    9
    • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
    28
    • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel
    30
     
     

    Sponsored Links

    Around The Network

    • Dirty Pretty Things at Rotten Tomatoes
    • Dirty Pretty Things at IGN
    • Dirty Pretty Things at AskMen

    Fresh Links

    Featured
    History of Disney Animation
    History of Disney Animation External Link

    MSN Movies offers a little background on the success of Disney Animation.

    90 Years of Screen Vampires
    90 Years of Screen Vampires External Link

    TIME takes a look back at the history of vampires on film.

    Virtuoso Vistas of Lovely Bones
    Virtuoso Vistas of Lovely Bones External Link

    Techland examines the visual splendor of Peter Jackson's upcoming film.

    Recent Headlines as TV Movies
    Recent Headlines as TV Movies External Link

    AOL put together a list of 10 recent news items that would be perfect as TV Movies.

    The Death of Original Thought
    The Death of Original Thought External Link

    Hollywood.com's C. Robert Cargill explores how remakes and reboots have warped our thinking.

    Promos
    Follow RT on Twitter
    Follow RT on Twitter External Link

    Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!

     
     
    About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
    IGN Logo

    IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
    TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
    AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


    By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
    Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
    IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
    Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.