Dirty Pretty Things

Dirty Pretty Things provides a sensitive and humane view of the life of illegal immigrants on the fringes of society. A London hotel, where staff from all over the world do the work the British turn up their noses at, functions as a multicultural microcosm. The illegal Nigerian immigrant Okwe is night porter. During the day, he drives a taxi to make ends meet and between shifts, he sleeps on the sofa in the grubby apartment of the Turkish chamber Senay (Audrey Tautou). She is an illegal immigrant too. One evening, Okwe gets a report of a blocked toilet in one of the rooms. The blockage turns out to have been caused by a human heart. He finds out that the hotel is used for operations and trade in human organs. The operations are performed in primitive conditions on desperate immigrants who hope to exchange a kidney for a passport. When it becomes apparent that the chief receptionist Sneaky is the man behind this murky business, the impossible position in which Okwe and Senay find themselves becomes even more precarious.With an intelligent scenario that meticulously sketches the background of Okwe, with impressive, compelling acting and fluent camerawork, Frears wraps the shocking and topical theme in a romantic drama and thriller that provokes and moves.