Dirty Pretty Things (2002/2003)
Pretty Boring Things is more like
it. At least for the first hour or so, anyway. Stephen
Frears' 21st film, a return to his roots in a way,
again shows us poor immigrant, dark- skinned people
living in London. Trouble is, here he has a cast incapable
of evoking any interest in the proceedings and a plot
that seems lifted from an Internet rumor site.
Starring a rather lackluster unknown
as the male lead (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Audrey Tautou
of "Amelie" fame as the heroine, "Dirty Pretty Things"
rarely gathers up any emotional interest, let alone
dramatic tension. Tautou seems horribly miscast for
a long time in the film. Playing a supposedly virginal,
Turkish, illegal immigrant, the actress appears to
be way out of her element in this piece.
The biggest problem with the film
is Frears' slick photography (in conjunction with
cinematographer Chris Menges). Granted, the characters
here do work in fancy hotels and luxurious surroundings
at times even though they themselves are dirt poor.
And while this slick, glossy world should be reflected
in the film, the other moments in the film should
not be in this style. Sadly, they pretty much are.
Frears does use some atmospherics at times, in particular
during the scenes in a morgue and during a scene set
in a makeshift operating room, but this still looks
far too stylized to reflect the supposed financial
vagrancy of his main characters here.
After about an hour of set-up that
is far too often boring and slow, Frears does finish
the film with a climax that is interesting, cool and
unexpected. It is, however, too little, too late.
"Dirty Pretty Things" doesn't translate well.
Note:
Released in much of the world in
2002, the film did not premiere in the U.S. until
January, 2003.
Viewed in Austin in September 2003.
