“The
hotel business is about strangers, and strangers will surprise you.”
Dirty Pretty Things
is a movie I have wanted to see for a while. I never had any idea what on earth
it was about all I knew about is that Audrey Tautou is on the poster and I had
to see it since she is one of my favorite actresses. Based off the title it has
a story I definitely was not expecting.
Okwe (Chiwetel Ejofor) is an undocumented immigrant
working multiple jobs in a rough section of London. One of his several jobs is
as a concierge and maintenance attendant at a shady hotel called The Baltic
Hotel. A prostitute who frequents the hotel comes down one day and tells Okwe
that the toilet in the room she just came out of is backed up. He rigs up a clothes
hanger to try to get whatever was backing the toilet up down. When the blockage
does not move Okwe sticks his hand in and pulls it out. In his hand is a human
heart. He knows it is definitely a human heart he used to be a doctor in his
country.
Sometime later two African men come into the staff room. The
younger man is in serious pain. When Okwe takes a look the younger man has a
serious wound that has become infected. Okwe realizes that the man has had his
kidney crudely removed.
After these events Okwe’s world in London starts to
spiral. He and his roommate and fellow hotel employee, refugee Senay Gelik
(Audrey Tautou), are in trouble with immigration services and their boss at the
hotel. Their sleazy boss forces Okwe into performing illegal surgery and Senay
has had to take another job to stay away from the hotel in order to not be
taken in by immigration. Senay is given the opportunity to get out of the
country on a fake passport from the hotel boss but she has to give up a kidney
and do some sexual things with the boss. Okwe has to perform the surgery. Okwe
and Senay turn the tables on the boss by drugging his drink, performing the
surgery on him, and getting away with their fake passports.
Dirty Pretty Things
was alright. The story was interesting but to me there were more slow parts
than ones that grabbed my attention. The story almost turned my stomach because
all the characters were so sleazy and off putting. Dirty Pretty Things is worth watching at least once especially
because this is Audrey Tautou’s first English speaking role and she is of
course she is just an awesome actress.
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