Dirty Pretty Things

Colour, 35 mm
United Kingdom, 2002, 93 min
Section: Horizons

Synopsis

Okwe studied medicine and his family lives in his native country Nigeria. He is living in England illegally, he drives a taxi in the evenings and at night works as a porter in a hotel of doubtful reputation in west London. He doesn’t have his own flat but sleeps during the day in a little room occupied by Senay, who leaves each morning to go to work. She is a maid in the same hotel where Okwe is night porter. Senay is a little better off than Okwe since she has already applied for her permit to stay, and she’ll probably get it, provided that she doesn’t let on that she is working illegally. Once at night, Okwe discovers something strange and disturbing in one of the hotel rooms. He realises that something extremely dodgy is going on behind his back. Since, as an illegal immigrant, he cannot call the police, he decides to investigate the matter further off his own bat but soon finds himself in the dangerous world of crime. It is not long before he discovers that not only is his stay in Britain at stake, but also his life. But he is no longer able to stop himself.. The director cast Audrey Tautou, famous for her part in Amelie from Monmartre, in the role of the Turkish girl Senay.

About the director

Stephen Frears (1941, Leicester), studied law but subsequently turned to theatre and film. He was assistant to Karel Reisz and Lindsay Anderson before he made the 30-minute documentary about racism in South Africa Burning (1957). In 1972 he made his first feature film Gumshoe and then became established in TV for a while. He earned international acclaim in 1985 with the film My Beautiful Laundrette, after which followed Walter and June (1985), Prick Up Your Ears and Sammy and Rosie Get Laid (both 1987). Frears often moves from socially motivated films made in the UK to big commercial projects in the USA: Dangerous Liaisons (1988), The Grifters (1990) and Hero (1992). Other films: The Snapper (1993), Mary Reilly (1986), The Van (1997), The Hi-lo Country (1998), High Fidelity (1999), Liam (2000).