A Nigerian doctor (Chiwetel Ejiofor) exiled from his own country and living illegally in London, drives a cab by day and works a hotel front desk by night, turning a blind eye to the various vices he encounters while performing simple medical procedures under the table and living with a Turkish maid (Audrey Tatou). His life gets thrown into chaos when one sleepless, ordinary night, a prostitute friend asks him to check the clogged toilet in her room. From a script by Steven Knight, Dirty Pretty Things is a thriller with an immigration agenda, telling a seamy tale of the underbelly of London and while it is not as shocking as its subject matter would indicate, it is nonetheless intriguing with exacting direction from Stephen Frears and a brilliant performance from Ejiofor.
*** 1/2 out of ****
