As an avid moviegoer, it is rare for me to go to the theater and see something that I haven’t seen a hundred times before. I have sat through the same tired Adam Sandler jokes time and time again, as well as watched two of the most overrated horror movie villains duke it out with each other for no reason other than to have another excuse to exploit a dead franchise.
While looking in the newspaper I was worried that a recent weekend would be no different. I thought I was going to be stuck watching the sequel to one of the most pathetic, clichÇ teen horror films of all time, “Jeepers Creepers 2.”
That was until I stumbled onto another film that was recently released in town. This is a film that most of you probably have not even heard of, a film called “Dirty Pretty Things.”
I had previously seen a couple of reviews about it on the Internet and witnessed a brief preview that told me almost nothing about the plot. So, in all reality, I didn’t know quite what to expect. One thing I did know was that it starred French actress, Audrey Tautou. You might know her from her starring role in the amazing French film “Le Fabuleux destin d’AmÇlie Poulain.” If you haven’t seen it, I recommend you all pick it up. Here in the United States its known simply as “Amelie.”
The film “Dirty Pretty Things,” in a nutshell, is about the world of black market organ selling in present day London, yet to describe it simply as that would be like saying “Fight Club” is about punching people.
The plot revolves around a couple of illegal immigrants who are offered the chance to become legal citizens, but like all good things, it comes at a price. The film delves into such themes as moral dilemmas and the blurred line between right and wrong.
Don’t expect a mindless murderfest like so many other films out there. “Dirty Pretty Things” offers more emotion than violence and more drama and social commentary than outright gore. Not to say this film did not have its share of disturbing imagery. A scene in a hotel restroom toward the beginning of the film comes to mind.
The film is directed by Stephen Frears (“High Fidelity,” “Dangerous Liaisons”) and stars British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor as Okwe, a front desk clerk who starts to notice the strange things that are happening at the hotel where he works. He and Audrey Tautou’s character Senay, do their best to survive while also avoiding deportation.
If I have one complaint about the film it was just getting used to all those foreign accents. Although the film was made in Great Britain, I don’t recall hearing many British accents. There were Turkish, Nigerian, Spanish and Russian accents but I don’t recall hearing anyone who sounded like they were born and raised in the United Kingdom, let alone the United States. Even the Immigration Officers sounded like they came from other parts of the world. Eventually, all the different dialects sunk in and I was able to follow along with ease.
As the credits rolled and the lights came on I couldn’t have been more pleased with the film I just watched, yet looking around, it was clear that others in the theater had mixed reviews. Some seemed bored, while still others just seemed confused. It seemed that a lot of the people sitting around me were looking for something a little more formulaic, a little more Hollywood, or at the very least, the type of film where you get to just stare at American women stripping off their clothing in front of the camera for a couple of hours. I was looking for a thought-provoking thriller with heart and meaning and that’s exactly what I got.
So if you are looking for sex and gore, by all means, go see “Jeepers Creepers 2” or “Freddy vs. Jason” or anything else that does not require any brain power to sit through. But if you want to see something that doesn’t follow that same tired formula that so many Hollywood films hide behind, than go see “Dirty Pretty Things.”
If there is one fact I have noticed in the world of cinematic entertainment, it’s that all the pretty things are out of the Bakersfield theaters after a couple of weeks, and all that is left is the dirt.