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The day continued
happily with Stephen Frears’ latest, DIRTY PRETTY
THINGS, which offers a very different view of the immigrant
experience. In most
ways, it isn’t an immigrant movie at all. Being in London without proper papers drives
the actions of the lead characters – Okwe, a bell captain/taxi
driver played by Chiwetel Ejiofor and Senay, a hotel
maid played by Amelie’s Audrey Tautou.
London is
a dangerous place for a man with secrets and no immigration
papers, like Okwe. It’s every bit as dangerous for a sweet-faced
Turkish virgin like Senay, who secretly works for cash, since
legally she has to wait for a status shift that allows her
to work legally in London.
Elements
of earlier Frears films like My Beautiful Launderette
and The Grifters mix with original ideas in Steven
Knight’s tightly constructed screenplay.
Sergi Lopez is the hotel manager who has his
entire building wired for kickbacks. Sophie Okonedo is the hooker with the
heart of brass. And
Benedict Wong is Okwe’s even-tempered Asian friend
with a job at the hospital’s morgue that keeps him in nights.
Dirty
Pretty Things can be a tough, bloody ride. Open body wounds are no less raw than the
emotional wounds carried by some of these characters, imposed
by the soulless that take advantage at any turn they can.
But it is a smart, clever movie with strong characters
and performances that we haven’t seen before.
Tautou is on a wholly different note than in Amelie. And Chiwetel Ejiofor is a real find. He appeared in Amistad… tiny world,
when I am seeing great, career-building performances by Amistad
graduates back-to-back. But
this will be his first worldwide exposure.
Ejiofor has great strength of character as an actor. I will look forward to his next roles.
Frears has
always been a hard one to peg.
He’ll make a hit like The Grifters and a commercial
miss that deserved better like The Hi-Lo Country and
dead miss like Mary Reilly, then come back with an
urban romantic dramedy like High Fidelity, work in
live television and deliver a small wonder like Dirty Pretty
Things, which takes its place in the domain of 70s style
Brit thrillers like Sexy Beast and Croupier. Good movie.
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