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Dirty Pretty Things (film)
Encyclopedia
Dirty Pretty Things is a 2002 film directed by Stephen Frears
and written by Steven Knight
, a drama
about two illegal immigrants in London
. It was produced by the Celador Films
production company.
The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and won a British Independent Film Award
for "Best Independent British Film" in 2003.
) is a Nigerian man who drives a cab
in London during the day and works at the front desk of a hotel at night — chewing khat
(a stimulant
) to keep awake. Okwe was formerly a doctor
in Nigeria. In London, he is pressed into giving medical treatment to other poor immigrants — including fellow cab drivers with venereal diseases. Okwe's friend Guo Yi (Benedict Wong
), an employee at a hospital mortuary, provides him with antibiotics under the table.
A prostitute known as Juliette (Sophie Okonedo
) tells Okwe to check a room in which she was staying and he finds the toilet overflowing. While fishing out the blockage, he finds a human heart. The manager of the hotel, Juan (Sergi López), runs an illegal operation at the hotel wherein immigrants swap kidneys for forged passports. After learning of Okwe's past as a doctor, Juan pressures him to join his operation as a surgeon, but Okwe refuses.
Okwe shares an apartment with Senay (Audrey Tautou
). Senay is a Turkish
woman who works as a maid in the same hotel. The two immigrants form a friendship, but their situation becomes complicated when immigration police begin to chase her and suspect that she is working against the terms of her status. Okwe moves out of Senay's flat and Guo Yi illicitly lets Okwe have some space in the hospital mortuary for accommodation. Senay quits her job at the hotel and takes a job in a clothing sweatshop
. However, after two days at her new job she has to hide from immigration police, who visit the sweatshop. Using this as blackmail, the sweatshop owner solicits sexual favours from her. In the second or third instance however, she bites his penis while administering oral sex and flees. She leaves her apartment and runs to Okwe, who hides her in the mortuary.
In desperation, Senay then turns to Juan and agrees to exchange a kidney for a passport. As a "deal maker", Juan takes her virginity as well, and later Juliette provides her with the morning-after pill
. After learning of Senay's plan, Okwe tells Juan that he will perform the operation to ensure her safety, but only if Juan provides them both with passports. However, Okwe and Senay drug Juan instead, surgically remove his kidney and sell it to Juan's contact.
The film ends with Senay and Okwe at Stansted Airport, where Okwe must return to his young daughter, Valerie, in Nigeria (where he had been wrongly accused of his wife's murder) while Senay follows her dream to start a new life in New York City
. Before they part, however, she gives him her cousin's address in New York. In the closing scene, they mouth "I love you" to each other. Senay boards the plane to New York to begin life anew and Okwe calls Valerie to tell her that he is finally coming home.
Stephen Frears
Stephen Arthur Frears is an English film director.-Early life:Frears was born in Leicester, England to Ruth M., a social worker, and Dr Russell E. Frears, a general practitioner and accountant. He did not find out that his mother was Jewish until he was in his late 20s...
and written by Steven Knight
Steven Knight
Steven Knight is a British screenwriter. Knight has written scripts for numerous British television programmes such as the British version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, BBC's Commercial Breakdown, The Detectives and others. However, he is best known for screenplays he wrote for films Dirty...
, a drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
about two illegal immigrants in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. It was produced by the Celador Films
Celador
Celador is a global light entertainment company originally formed as an independent production company in 1983. It has produced a number of popular light entertainment shows and is probably best known for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and co-producing the film Slumdog Millionaire which collected...
production company.
The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and won a British Independent Film Award
British Independent Film Awards 2003
The 6th British Independent Film Awards, given on 4 November 2003 at the Hammersmith Palais, London, honoured the best British independent films of 2003.-Winners:*Best Actor:**Chiwetel Ejiofor - Dirty Pretty Things*Best Actress:...
for "Best Independent British Film" in 2003.
Plot
Okwe (Chiwetel EjioforChiwetel Ejiofor
Chiwetelu Umeadi "Chiwetel" Ejiofor, OBE is an English actor of stage and screen. He has received numerous acting awards and award nominations, including the 2006 BAFTA Awards Rising Star, three Golden Globe Awards' nominations, and the 2008 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his...
) is a Nigerian man who drives a cab
Taxicab
A taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...
in London during the day and works at the front desk of a hotel at night — chewing khat
Khat
Khat, qat, gat or Waquish Spoken from true Yemeni, is a flowering plant native to tropical East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula....
(a stimulant
Stimulant
Stimulants are psychoactive drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical function or both. Examples of these kinds of effects may include enhanced alertness, wakefulness, and locomotion, among others...
) to keep awake. Okwe was formerly a doctor
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
in Nigeria. In London, he is pressed into giving medical treatment to other poor immigrants — including fellow cab drivers with venereal diseases. Okwe's friend Guo Yi (Benedict Wong
Benedict Wong
Benedict Wong is an English actor and comedian.Wong was born in Manchester and attended school in Salford. His first role was in a 1993 BBC Radio play called Kai Mei Sauce, written by Kevin Wong. He appeared alongside Sean Lock in the situation comedy 15 Storeys High, and as Dr. Franklin Fu in the...
), an employee at a hospital mortuary, provides him with antibiotics under the table.
A prostitute known as Juliette (Sophie Okonedo
Sophie Okonedo
Sophie Okonedo, OBE is a British actress, who has starred both in successful British and American productions. In 1991, she made her acting debut in the British critically acclaimed coming-of-age drama, Young Soul Rebels...
) tells Okwe to check a room in which she was staying and he finds the toilet overflowing. While fishing out the blockage, he finds a human heart. The manager of the hotel, Juan (Sergi López), runs an illegal operation at the hotel wherein immigrants swap kidneys for forged passports. After learning of Okwe's past as a doctor, Juan pressures him to join his operation as a surgeon, but Okwe refuses.
Okwe shares an apartment with Senay (Audrey Tautou
Audrey Tautou
Audrey Justine Tautou is a French model and film actress, best known for playing the title character in the award-winning 2001 film Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain, Sophie Neveu in the 2006 thriller The Da Vinci Code, Irène in Priceless and Coco Chanel in Coco avant Chanel...
). Senay is a Turkish
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
woman who works as a maid in the same hotel. The two immigrants form a friendship, but their situation becomes complicated when immigration police begin to chase her and suspect that she is working against the terms of her status. Okwe moves out of Senay's flat and Guo Yi illicitly lets Okwe have some space in the hospital mortuary for accommodation. Senay quits her job at the hotel and takes a job in a clothing sweatshop
Sweatshop
Sweatshop is a negatively connoted term for any working environment considered to be unacceptably difficult or dangerous. Sweatshop workers often work long hours for very low pay, regardless of laws mandating overtime pay or a minimum wage. Child labour laws may be violated. Sweatshops may have...
. However, after two days at her new job she has to hide from immigration police, who visit the sweatshop. Using this as blackmail, the sweatshop owner solicits sexual favours from her. In the second or third instance however, she bites his penis while administering oral sex and flees. She leaves her apartment and runs to Okwe, who hides her in the mortuary.
In desperation, Senay then turns to Juan and agrees to exchange a kidney for a passport. As a "deal maker", Juan takes her virginity as well, and later Juliette provides her with the morning-after pill
Emergency contraception
Emergency contraception , or emergency postcoital contraception, refers to birth control measures that, if taken after sexual intercourse, may prevent pregnancy.Forms of EC include:...
. After learning of Senay's plan, Okwe tells Juan that he will perform the operation to ensure her safety, but only if Juan provides them both with passports. However, Okwe and Senay drug Juan instead, surgically remove his kidney and sell it to Juan's contact.
The film ends with Senay and Okwe at Stansted Airport, where Okwe must return to his young daughter, Valerie, in Nigeria (where he had been wrongly accused of his wife's murder) while Senay follows her dream to start a new life in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Before they part, however, she gives him her cousin's address in New York. In the closing scene, they mouth "I love you" to each other. Senay boards the plane to New York to begin life anew and Okwe calls Valerie to tell her that he is finally coming home.
Cast
- Chiwetel EjioforChiwetel EjioforChiwetelu Umeadi "Chiwetel" Ejiofor, OBE is an English actor of stage and screen. He has received numerous acting awards and award nominations, including the 2006 BAFTA Awards Rising Star, three Golden Globe Awards' nominations, and the 2008 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his...
as Okwe - Audrey TautouAudrey TautouAudrey Justine Tautou is a French model and film actress, best known for playing the title character in the award-winning 2001 film Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain, Sophie Neveu in the 2006 thriller The Da Vinci Code, Irène in Priceless and Coco Chanel in Coco avant Chanel...
as Senay - Sophie OkonedoSophie OkonedoSophie Okonedo, OBE is a British actress, who has starred both in successful British and American productions. In 1991, she made her acting debut in the British critically acclaimed coming-of-age drama, Young Soul Rebels...
as Juliette - Sergi López as Sneaky (Juan)
- David Hoggard as AsianBritish AsianBritish Asian is a term used to describe British citizens who descended from mainly South Asia, also known as South Asians in the United Kingdom...
businessman - Israel Aduramo as Mini cab driver
- Yemi Ajibade as Mini cab driver
- Nizwar Karanj as Mini cab driver
- Dhobi Oparei as Mini cab driver
- Jeffery Kissoon as Cab Controller
- Zlatko BuricZlatko buricZlatko Burić is a Croat-Danish actor. He was born in Osijek, Croatia , and educated at Dramski Studio in Osijek...
as Ivan - Benedict WongBenedict WongBenedict Wong is an English actor and comedian.Wong was born in Manchester and attended school in Salford. His first role was in a 1993 BBC Radio play called Kai Mei Sauce, written by Kevin Wong. He appeared alongside Sean Lock in the situation comedy 15 Storeys High, and as Dr. Franklin Fu in the...
as Guo Yi - Kenan Hudaverdi as Cafe owner
- Damon Younger as Punter
- Paul Bhattacharjee as Mohammed