dirty pretty things - reflections

I guess some would call me a movie "snob"...I'm pretty careful about what I watch, and there are some directors/actors/writers that I avoid at all costs. last week, I decided to rent a few films I had been wanting to see for a while, and dirty pretty things was one of them. I am a latecomer fan of chiwetel ejiofor, who I thought was really brilliant in "children of men"...his portrayal of okwe, an illegal refugee living in london, blew me away. dpt is about the urban london underground - and as okwe himself describes, "we [the immigrants] are the ones you do not see. We drive your cabs, clean your rooms and suck your cocks".

it is wonderfully shocking, eerily thrilling, and saturated with social commentary. it depicts a dirty, grungy, and perverse london, and the immigrants who are at the brunt of oppressors who take advantage of their ambitions for a new life. the film is undoubtedly dark, depicting things that people are only willing to hide in seedy hotel rooms (believe me, the sex trade is only a small component of this). the bittersweet and understated romance/friendship that burgeons between ejiofor's okwe, and audrey tautou's senay (who plays a turkish muslim) is one of the highlights of the film for me...there is no overt "pursuit" and flowery romance...as time passes in the film, you just begin to realize how much these people need each other to survive. tautou is always so impressive - she certainly doesn't need words to show the audience what's going on.

one of the best movies I've seen in the past year - successfully keeping me on the edge of my seat during its entirety.