Dirty Pretty Things

Title: Dirty Pretty Things
Rating: 3.5/5
Genre: Romantic, Drama
Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Audrey Tautou

“We are the people you do not see. We are the ones who drive your cabs. We clean your rooms. And suck your cocks.”

Continuing by stint on British cinema, I am lead towards this tale set in the heart of London, following the stories of immigrants doing what is required of them to survive. With Tautou’s first English-speaking role, working closely with the lead – an as of here relatively unknown actor – I went in expecting many difficult situations with regards to immigration authorities and surviving. What instead came as a surprise were the characters themselves, as we gradually learn more about them and what they are willing to do in order to stay in the country, and the dire situations they frequently find themselves coerced into without a status in the country, treated with disdain by many as second class citizens.

It is the curious character of Okwe (Chiwetel), a Nigerian doctor forced to leave his home country and left with little option but to work as a driver by day and hotel clerk by night, his hectic lifestyle gets no respite as slowly his profession becomes known to those who wish to use it to their advantage. Using what little free time he finds himself with he spends living with Turkish asylum seeker Senay (Tautou), already under investigation by immigration authorities her life quickly becomes more difficult with his presence, unwilling to sacrifice their friendship she soon starts looking for a way to New York.

Ignoring the French accent on the supposed Turkish woman, the two lead roles performed amicably. The strength of Chiwetel’s character came as much from curiosity about his past and strong script than from his own acting abilities, which at times felt perhaps a little detached, and Tautou displayed similar strengths. Beyond that the support cast was carefully chosen – perhaps more so than many films – from the hotel boss incapable of seeing his own evil manner that you just love to hate, the quirky Chinese mortician and the local prostitute, and not least the many other minor roles lending something of an authentic feel to the surroundings.

This isn’t a film without its issues however. The rather comical manner of the immigration police more representative of a ‘Laurel and Hardy’ type character than anything more official, the comparative ease he manages to steal hospital supplies and the cliché Hollywood-esque happy ending where everything magically comes together, all negating from the otherwise excellent flow the script produces in developing the characters and putting them into readily plausible situations simply for their presence.

This isn’t your average drama; there is a romantic element but it is overshadowed by the situations they face, relegated to the back of their mind as they concentrate on improving their stance in life. It is a depressing tale of what people are willing to face and suffer in return for their freedom, with both those sympathetic to them and those only concerned with how it is of benefit to them. Not displaying a specifically grim outlook on the dark workings of the city, instead it feels as though it demonstrates just how difficult their lives can be.