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Dirty Pretty Things
(Reviewed July 24, 2003)
-
Great characters, great dialog, great performances, great direction, great cinematography and great production design make this one of the best movies of the year. The only thing wrong with it is its
absolutely terrible plot, which veers between cliche and ridiculous. I know that sounds like a crazy love/hate assessment, but think about it: As charming and interesting and moving as the characters in
"Dirty Pretty Things" are, the basic storyline here is nothing more than a moldy urban legend dressed up with illegal-immigrant, underground-economy, social-commentary gravitas.
The plotline lacks even basic storytelling logic. Best example: Why was there a heart in the toilet in the first place (aside from being a plot device to set the rest of the movie's events in motion)?
There is no reason that makes any sense for the heart to have been there. I also didn't like the hoary cliche that found Okwe the night porter standing undetected in a bathroom tub behind a shower curtain
eavesdropping on a conversation. Honestly, can you imagine this ever happening in real life? (I am reminded of a great comment that a friend once made about a "Spider-man" comics scene in which Spidey
was suspended from a ceiling eavesdropping on mobsters below him in the same room, who somehow remained completely unaware of his presence. "Just picture that happening in real life," he said.
"You're in a room, and a guy is hanging by fingers and toes from the ceiling, but you don't know he is there. I don't think so!" But I digress...) And what happens in the final scene at the hotel is utterly
preposterous.
So how can a movie with a plot that plays like a bad TV cop show still rate an A-? Because Chiwetel Ejiofor (as Okwe) gives such a quietly convincing performance he should be a lock for an
Oscar nomination. Because Audrey Tautou ("Amelie") is so remarkably good as an illegal Turkish immigrant who is confused, desperate and determined. And because every other character in this virtual
underground United Nations cast is equally interesting, from the hotel's Russian doorman to the Chinese morgue attendant to the VD-prone cab dispatcher. Okay, the hooker with the heart of gold was
straight from central casting, but even she was likeable.
You will wish that all of these wonderful characters were in a better movie, but they're not, so go see this one.
Back Row Grade: A-
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