History Film / DirtyPrettyThings

Okwe (Ejiofor) is an illegal immigrant from UsefulNotes/{{Nigeria}} who was a doctor in his native country but had to flee under mysterious circumstances to London. There, he supports himself by working as a cab driver by day and a hotel desk clerk by night, chewing khat leaves to stay awake throughout his long shifts. He rents a couch from one of his coworkers at the hotel, Senay (Tautou), a Turkish woman who, though she is in the United Kingdom legally, is forbidden to work under her status as an asylum seeker. His other acquaintances include Ivan (Zlatko Buric), a burly Russian who works as the doorman for the hotel, Juliette (Creator/SophieOkonedo), a lower class English prostitute who meets her clients there, and Guo Yi (Benedict Wong), a Chinese doctor who works in a hospital mortuary and supplies Okwe with prescription drugs for the other illegals employed at his taxi company on the sly. Overseeing operations at the hotel is Juan (Sergi Lopez), a suave but shady Spaniard with his fingers in all manner of sleazy goings-on.

* InnocentCohabitation: Okwe and Senay; Senay works very hard to make sure nobody will even think it's not so.

%%* FauxAffablyEvil: Juan

* DirtyOldMan: Senay's boss at the sweatshop she begins working at after she leaves the hotel; he [[spoiler: forces her to give him sexual favors in exchange for not turning her into the police]]. Also, Ivan likes his whores.

%%* LaserGuidedKarma: [[spoiler: Juan]] has his fate coming.

%%* RapeAsDrama: [[spoiler: Poor Senay.]]

* FauxAffablyEvil: Juan

* HookerWithAHeartOfGold: Juliette

* LaserGuidedKarma: [[spoiler: Juan]] has his fate coming.

* RapeAsDrama: [[spoiler: Poor Senay.]]

* AffablyEvil: Juan

* TitleDrop: Indirectly; the title references a remark Juan makes to Okwe, which is that is the job of people like themselves to make pretty again the things which their customers get dirty.

A 2002 British thriller focusing on the lives of immigrants in UsefulNotes/{{London}}, directed by Stephen Frears and starring Creator/ChiwetelEjiofor and Creator/AudreyTautou.

A 2002 British thriller focusing on the lives of immigrants in UsefulNotes/{{London}}, directed by Stephen Frears and starring Creator/ChiwetelEjiofor and Creator/AudreyTautou. Okwe (Ejiofor) is an illegal immigrant from UsefulNotes/{{Nigeria}} who was a doctor in his native country but had to flee under mysterious circumstances to London. There, he supports himself by working as a cab driver by day and a hotel desk clerk by night, chewing khat leaves to stay awake throughout his long shifts. He rents a couch from one of his coworkers at the hotel, Senay (Tautou), a Turkish woman who, though she is in the United Kingdom legally, is forbidden to work under her status as an asylum seeker. His other acquaintances include Ivan (Zlatko Buric), a burly Russian who works as the doorman for the hotel, Juliette (Creator/SophieOkonedo), a lower class English prostitute who meets her clients there, and Guo Yi (Benedict Wong), a Chinese doctor who works in a hospital mortuary and supplies Okwe with prescription drugs for the other illegals employed at his taxi company on the sly. Overseeing operations at the hotel is Juan (Sergi Lopez), a suave but shady Spaniard with his fingers in all manner of sleazy goings-on.

* FakeNationality: The Nigerian Okwe and Chinese Guo Yi are both played by British actors, though Ejiofor is Nigerian-British and Wong Chinese-British. The Turkish Senay is played by the French Audrey Tautou, and the Russian Ivan by Croatian Zlatko Buric. In story, acquiring a FakeNationality becomes a major goal of both Okwe and Senay, as well as many other immigrants in their situation. [[spoiler: Both of them succeed]].
* FakeRussian: Croatian-born Zlatko Buric as Ivan.

* PlayingAgainstType: It's hard to believe now that he's also well-known for playing a psychopathic fascist officer in ''PansLabyrinth'', but prior to this movie Sergi Lopez was known mostly for light comic roles.

A 2002 British thriller focusing on the lives of immigrants in UsefulNotes/{{London}}, directed by Stephen Frears and starring ChiwetelEjiofor and Creator/AudreyTautou. Okwe (Ejiofor) is an illegal immigrant from UsefulNotes/{{Nigeria}} who was a doctor in his native country but had to flee under mysterious circumstances to London. There, he supports himself by working as a cab driver by day and a hotel desk clerk by night, chewing khat leaves to stay awake throughout his long shifts. He rents a couch from one of his coworkers at the hotel, Senay (Tautou), a Turkish woman who, though she is in the United Kingdom legally, is forbidden to work under her status as an asylum seeker. His other acquaintances include Ivan (Zlatko Buric), a burly Russian who works as the doorman for the hotel, Juliette (Creator/SophieOkonedo), a lower class English prostitute who meets her clients there, and Guo Yi (Benedict Wong), a Chinese doctor who works in a hospital mortuary and supplies Okwe with prescription drugs for the other illegals employed at his taxi company on the sly. Overseeing operations at the hotel is Juan (Sergi Lopez), a suave but shady Spaniard with his fingers in all manner of sleazy goings-on.

A 2002 British thriller focusing on the lives of immigrants in UsefulNotes/{{London}}, directed by Stephen Frears and starring ChiwetelEjiofor and Creator/AudreyTautou. Okwe (Ejiofor) is an illegal immigrant from UsefulNotes/{{Nigeria}} who was a doctor in his native country but had to flee under mysterious circumstances to London. There, he supports himself by working as a cab driver by day and a hotel desk clerk by night, chewing khat leaves to stay awake throughout his long shifts. He rents a couch from one of his coworkers at the hotel, Senay (Tautou), a Turkish woman who, though she is in the United Kingdom legally, is forbidden to work under her status as an asylum seeker. His other acquaintances include Ivan (Zlatko Buric), a burly Russian who works as the doorman for the hotel, Juliette (SophieOkonedo), a lower class English prostitute who meets her clients there, and Guo Yi (Benedict Wong), a Chinese doctor who works in a hospital mortuary and supplies Okwe with prescription drugs for the other illegals employed at his taxi company on the sly. Overseeing operations at the hotel is Juan (Sergi Lopez), a suave but shady Spaniard with his fingers in all manner of sleazy goings-on.

A 2002 British thriller focusing on the lives of immigrants in London, directed by Stephen Frears and starring ChiwetelEjiofor and AudreyTautou. Okwe (Ejiofor) is an illegal immigrant from Nigeria who was a doctor in his native country but had to flee under mysterious circumstances to London. There, he supports himself by working as a cab driver by day and a hotel desk clerk by night, chewing khat leaves to stay awake throughout his long shifts. He rents a couch from one of his coworkers at the hotel, Senay (Tautou), a Turkish woman who, though she is in the United Kingdom legally, is forbidden to work under her status as an asylum seeker. His other acquaintances include Ivan (Zlatko Buric), a burly Russian who works as the doorman for the hotel, Juliette (SophieOkonedo), a lower class English prostitute who meets her clients there, and Guo Yi (Benedict Wong), a Chinese doctor who works in a hospital mortuary and supplies Okwe with prescription drugs for the other illegals employed at his taxi company on the sly. Overseeing operations at the hotel is Juan (Sergi Lopez), a suave but shady Spaniard with his fingers in all manner of sleazy goings-on.

* WorthlessForeignDegree: Okwe was a doctor in Nigeria but because of his immigration status must make his living as a cab driver and hotel desk clerk in London.