Film Summary
Nominated for an Oscar at the 2004 Academy Awards for Best Original Screenplay, DIRTY PRETTY THINGS is an illuminating and nuanced film about the exploitation of illegal immigrants. Chiwetel Ejiofor gives a remarkably understated performance in director Stephen Frears's (DANGEROUS LIAISONS, HIGH FIDELITY) offbeat and gripping drama. Ejiofor stars as Okwe, a Nigerian who is trying to make a new life for himself in London, where he works days as a taxi driver and nights as a hotel desk receptionist. When he discovers a human heart in a hotel-room bathroom, he cannot go to the police because he's an illegal alien. Suddenly he is thrust into the middle of a dangerous situation that threatens tragic results for him and those around him. French ingenue Audrey Tautou (AMELIE) costars as a Turkish woman who has sought asylum in England, where she is allowed to live but not work. But she must make money, so she works secretly while the government tries to catch her. "An odd hybrid -- part thriller, part social commentary, part quirky comedy -- that adds up to something that's entertaining, enlightening and highly original." -- Michael Rechtshaffen, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. "Frears' vision of London's invisible work force is never less than captivating and warmly sympathetic, and Ejiofor's performance is a portrait of exhausted dignity that will stick with you for years." -- Andrew O'Hehir, SALON.COM.