Chiwetel Ejiofor gives a remarkably understated performance in director Stephen Frears's offbeat and gripping drama DIRTY PRETTY THINGS. 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 is an illegal alien with a mysterious past that he refuses to talk about. Suddenly he is thrust into the middle of a dangerous situation that threatens to have tragic results for him and those around him. French ingenue Audrey Tautou 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. Benedict Wong turns in a fine supporting performance as Guo Yi, a morgue employee who shares wise and humorous sayings with Okwe, and Sergi Lopez is absolutely chilling as the amorally opportunistic hotel manager. Frears directs the unusual proceedings with a deft hand, slowly revealing secrets that are as gruesome as they are poignant.

Theatrical Release: July 18, 2003 (NY/LA)

DVD Features:

Region 1
Keep Case
Additional Release Material:
Behind the Scenes
Audio Commentary: Stephen Frears - Director

Distributor Notes: Dirty Pretty Things

From Stephen Frears, the Oscar(R)-nominated director of THE GRIFTERS (Best Director, 1990) and DANGEROUS LIAISONS, DIRTY PRETTY THINGS stars Audrey Tautou (AMELIE) in a harrowing tale of struggle and survival for two immigrants who learn that everything is for sale in London's secret underworld! Part of an invisible working class, Nigerian exile Okwe (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Turkish chambermaid Senay (Tautou) toil at a west London hotel that is full of illegal activity. Then late one night Okwe makes a shocking discovery, which creates an impossible dilemma and tests the limits of all they know! Honored with numerous European film awards and nominations -- including wins at the London Critics Circle Film Awards and the Venice Film Festival -- you'll find this gritty urban thriller to be thoroughly engrossing and impossible to forget!

Source: Buena Vista Home Entertainment.

Chjwetel Ejiofor: 
Audrey Tautou: French actress, VENUS BEAUTY INSTITUTE
Sergi Lopez: Actor
Sophie Okonedo: Actress/"Maria's Child"
Zlatko Buric: Danish Actor
Benedict Wong: Actor, DIRTY PRETTY THINGS (2003)

Stephen Frears: British Director

Tracey Seaward: Producer, THE GOOD THEIF (2003)
Robert Jones: Producer

Steven Knight: Screenwriter, DIRTY PRETTY THINGS

Nathan Larson: Composer

"...A swift, tangy drama....[An] understated and sure film....Mr. Knight's climactic story-beat achieves its purpose with a minimum of fuss, abetted by the elegant thoughtfulness of Mr. Frears and the no-nonsense charisma of Mr. Ejiofor..."
"...Disturbing and intriguing, DIRTY PRETTY THINGS fits a great deal into its 94 quicksilver minutes....This is a film that insinuates itself deeply into our awareness..."
"...It's a suspense thriller, a dark comedy, an astute sociological study of the 'New Europe', and a haunting love story, all rolled into one smashing film..."
"...Culture clashes in the U.K. are a common screen topic, but Frears is a master....It is dirtier than pretty, but Frears finds beauty in the telling..."
"...Fueled by gripping suspense, dark humor and outraged humanity, the film is a modern horror story that means to shake you and does..."
"[W]orthy, intelligent, tense, and mostly quite wonderful..."