Imagine being an over-worked, under-payed and under appreciated hotel worker. It's late. The relentless, monotonous ticking of a clock nearing 2am is all that keeps you from falling asleep. Suddenly, you're startled by the appearance of flamboyant prostitute Juliette who descends from one of the rooms fresh from a client, telling you of a clogged toilet. When you arrive to remove the no doubt nasty blockage, your hand shoots to your mouth as you cry out in astonished disbelief: "Oh my God!".

Well, that was my reaction anyway as I watched this incredible little thriller directed by Stephen Frears, more recently known for his success on "The Queen." I'll leave you to find out just what Okwe, the overworked main character, discovers one night in a cheap hotel bathroom, but one thing's for certain; it'll change his life forever.

My previous comment that the film is a thriller was slightly incorrect, but the clever thing that Frears does is take the Hitchcockian plot device… more »

Imagine being an over-worked, under-payed and under appreciated hotel worker. It's late. The relentless, monotonous ticking of a clock nearing 2am is all that keeps you from falling asleep. Suddenly, you're startled by the appearance of flamboyant prostitute Juliette who descends from one of the rooms fresh from a client, telling you of a clogged toilet. When you arrive to remove the no doubt nasty blockage, your hand shoots to your mouth as you cry out in astonished disbelief: "Oh my God!".

Well, that was my reaction anyway as I watched this incredible little thriller directed by Stephen Frears, more recently known for his success on "The Queen." I'll leave you to find out just what Okwe, the overworked main character, discovers one night in a cheap hotel bathroom, but one thing's for certain; it'll change his life forever.

My previous comment that the film is a thriller was slightly incorrect, but the clever thing that Frears does is take the Hitchcockian plot device and sinister mystery in order to engage its audience in a subject that is never talked about in film; immigration. Okwe, an illegal immigrant from Nigeria, spends his waking hours driving cars for a backend minicab firm and serving the front desk at a hotel. He carries a weighted past that seems to prevent him from sleeping any, but not that it'd do him any good, considering his bed is a lumpy sofa in a tiny run-down flat owned by fellow hotel worker Senay (played by the delightful Audrey Tautou). Senay too is an immigrant, but even though she entered the country legally, she is still pushed and imposed upon by The System, being harassed by two thuggish immigration police officers. Also joining the cast is the incredibly slimy "Senor Sneaky", played by the well-cast Sergi López.

I just want to make it clear that this is not a start-to-finish exciting, balls-to-the-wall movie. It slows. It lingers. It's an emotional piece and sometimes we as an audience do not want to go on, but we are entwined with the fateful characters, and so must share their plunge into the dark, sinister and dirty side of London's back streets.

With a film of this sort, you're not going to get a jam-packed DVD full of little bonus goodies, but there's not even a director's commentary or trailer in sight. Big shame.

So in all, if you're looking for a film to engage your brain, "Dirty Pretty Things" will do that and more, offering you a little bit of thriller, a fair-size of heart aching drama and one hell of a thought-provoking social commentary. Definitely one of the most underrated films of the last decade and a must-buy for film buffs.