Dirty Pretty Things

Screenwriter Steven Knight and director Stephen Frears succeeded in perfectly tarnishing the "purity" of tourist London. Knight wrote one of the most original and darkest screenplays, in which he sharply delves into the issues of immigrants and illegal migrants. The atypical story of a Nigerian refugee and a Turkish "traveler's dream" portrays the harsh life of these people, who not only confront their own past but also a cruel present and an uncertain future. Presenting this material to the storyteller of gloomy tales, director Frears, turned out to be an excellent choice. Frears tells the story at a fast pace, pulling the viewer along with him into the action. However, the pace and narrative content is the director's main stumbling block. Frears is "just" telling a story, the characters have no dimension that would allow us to fully understand them. Just ask yourself where Okwe got so many willing friends or how he managed to get so close to Senay, who is a typical Turkish Muslim woman, i.e., almost "allergic" to men. To convey all of this, the film could have used an additional twenty minutes, which every viewer could have easily endured. But you know what? You won't care about any of this when you watch it. Frears is precisely the type of storyteller who can captivate the audience and make them forget about everything else. Accompanied by Nathan Larson's unusual synths, he will tell you what you didn't need to hear and what you didn't want to see. Despite the slightly creaky, almost fairytale-like ending - which, however, has a very non-fairytale form - there is no reason not to reward the film with a perfect review. Rightfully so? Maybe... I guess? Yes. (30/06/2005)

After the cold first half, strong bonds begin to form between the characters, the plot starts to heat up and the viewer’s initial impressions of the film transition to the level of wonderful enjoyment of the clean, intelligent and emotionally balanced collage of multiple genres. This film doesn’t mess around with any artifice. Rather, it is a dark thriller and romantic drama in one, very original and not a digestible experience for every viewer. (02/04/2004)

A story cut from life that I honestly hope is not actually from life. Dirty Pretty Things lives up to its name and nothing pleasant comes from it. On the contrary, thanks to its raw and unpleasant plot, it is exactly the type of movie that I never want to see again. Despite the precise acting performances, the excessive harshness must be reflected in the rating. (01/04/2006)

From my perspective, this is an unconvincing film that manipulates the audience's emotions and exploits their preconceived notions. Audrey Tautou, the main star, is outright bad, and the other actors are mostly average. The direction is lackluster; only the cinematography and music are worth mentioning, and that's not enough for a good film... Overall impression: 40%. (22/04/2007)

It's hard to say how objective, but it's certainly a compelling portrait of two foreigners in London who work under the table for a living and live in subconscious fear of the immigration authorities. Frears draws on an interesting script and great performances. While I expected this with Chiwetel Ejiofor (he is also excellent in Amistad), Sergi López was a very pleasant surprise, he obviously played his villain role with gusto, you could almost root for the bastard. I don't understand the criticism of the "perfect hero", on the contrary, it's nice to think that there are such people among us. Or does everyone have to be a bit of an asshole? (08/03/2004)