Dirty Pretty Things [Blu-ray]

Director: Stephen Frears

Overview

Director Stephen Frears returns to the grittier themes of his earlier films for the urban thriller Dirty Pretty Things. Residing in London, the medically trained Okwe (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is a Nigerian immigrant working as a taxi driver and a hotel concierge, but he still lives on the edge of poverty. He shares a room with Senay (Am?lie's Audrey Tautou making her English-language debut), a Turkish refugee who works as a maid at the hotel. As illegal immigrants, Okwe and Senay live in fear of being deported. One night, working at the front desk, Okwe receives a call from prostitute Juliette (Sophie Okonedo) to check a broken toilet, where he makes a horrifying discovery. He reports it to the manager Sneaky (Sergi Lopez), who blackmails Okwe into staying quiet about it. Okwe soon discovers the presence of a shady business operation that sends him into the seedy London underworld. Senay becomes lured in with hopes of being able to fund her escape to America. Dirty Pretty Things marks the screenwriting debut of Steve Knight, co-creator of the game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

Product Details

Release Date:	07/17/2012
UPC:	0096009023614
Original Release:	2002
Rating:	R
Source:	Miramax Echo Bridge
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	1:37:00
Sales rank:	24,348

Special Features

Commentary Track with Director Stephen Frears; Behind the Scenes Featurette

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Chiwetel Ejiofor	Okwe
Audrey Tautou	Senay
Sergie Lopez	Actor
Sophie Okonedo	Juliette
Benedict Wong	Guo Yi
Zlatko Buric	Ivan
Kriss Dosanjh	Asian Businessman
Israel Aduramo	Mini Cab Driver
Ade-Yemi Ajibade	Mini Cab Driver
Nizwar Karanj	Mini Cab Driver
Deobia Oparei	Mini Cab Driver
Jeffrey Kissoon	Cab Controller,Actor
Kenan Hudaverdi	Cafe Owner
Damon Younger	Punter
Paul Bhattacharjee	Mohammed
Darrell D'Silva	Immigration Officer
Sotigui Kouyate	Shinti
Abi Gouhad	Shinti's Son]
Jeillo Edwards	Hospital Cleaning Lady
Rita Hamill	Pharmacy Nurse
Ron Stenner	Pharmacist
Jemanesh Solomon	Shinti's Daughter-in Law
Naomi Simpson	Shinti's Granddaughter
Barber Ali	Sweatshop Foreman
Jean-Philippe Ecoffey	Jean Luc
Yusuf Altin	Sweatshop Boy
Fisun Burgess	Factory Worker
Sabina Michael	German Woman
Noma Dumezweni	Celia
Adrian Scarborough	The Doctor
Sergi L?pez	Sneaky

Technical Credits

Steven Knight

Steven Knight	Screenwriter
Leo Davis	Casting
Nick Gillard	Stunts
Julie Goldstein	Executive Producer
Robert Jones	Producer
Graham Longhurst	Special Effects
Teresa Moneo	Executive Producer
Mark Nelmes	Special Effects
Allon Reich	Executive Producer
Tracey Scoffield	Executive Producer
Tracey Seaward	Producer
Paul Smith	Executive Producer
David M. Thompson	Executive Producer

Editorial Reviews

Stripped to its basics, Dirty Pretty Things is a thriller involving the black-market trade in human organs removed from impoverished but willing victims. But in telling the story, director Stephen Frears paints a much richer picture than a typical thriller: His bleak depiction of contemporary London shows a city where members of the immigrant working class toil for low wages in menial positions and suffer extraordinary indignities just for the privilege of making a living in a free country. One such person is Okwe (played by Chiwetel Ejiofor), an exiled Nigerian doctor who drives a cab by day and mans a hotel desk by night. His roommate Senay (Audrey Tautou) works as both a maid and a sweatshop garment worker, and she's sorely tempted to sell one of her kidneys to the hotel bell captain, "Sneaky" (Sergi Lopez). Sneaky runs an organ trade that is thriving because his donors are the poorest illegal immigrants, people who don't dare go to the authorities for fear of being deported. London here is not the city of Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Piccadilly Circus, and bustling pubs; it's a city of shabby tenements, run-down factories, and grimy markets. With the exception of some immigration officials, the characters are all foreign nationals, some of whom believe their lengthier tenures in England entitle them to bully and brutalize the newer arrivals. Screenwriter Steve Knight received an Oscar nomination for this gripping, original story, and it's not hard to see why. Although dark and dingy throughout, Dirty Pretty Things is a bright cinematic gem.