Review of Dirty Pretty Things (2002) by Miguel F — 02 May 2009

I feel Dirty Pretty Things has everything it needs, but could have used just a bit more of the dark, surreal, silently horrifying feeling we get when Ejiofor first pulls that heart out of the toilet. The feeling pops up again once or twice (the two immigration officers' scenes have it) but for the most part Frear's keeps that twisted "real-life horror" to a minimum.

Oh well, the rest of the film is excellent as well, Ejiofor is one of those great actors that you love to see in nearly anything, and Tautou never ceases to amaze me, playing anything from a energetic romantic to a quiet Turkish maid.

However, Sergi Lopez gives the film's most memorable performance, as a sleazy, scary, entirley believable hotel manager/organ harvester. His character, Juan, has to be one of the best villains to come out of the movies this decade, and it seems as though no one has noticed!