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| Dvdivas
was founded by John Gabbard in 2000. It's purpose has been and
remains to be to provide you, the entertainment community with
the latest dvds and movie reviews. It will continue to be your
link to the most popular dvd movies. |
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"Dirty,
Pretty Things"
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Reviewed
by: |
Wayne Klein |
| Genre: |
Thriller
|
| Video: |
1.85:1, Widescreen
Anamorphic |
| Audio: |
Dolby Digital
5.1 Surround Sound |
| Languages |
English,
French |
| Subtitles |
English,
Spanish |
| Length |
130 minutes
|
| Rating |
R |
| Release Date |
2/17/04 |
| Studio |
Miramax Home
Video |
| Commentary:
|
Director
Stephen Frears |
| Documentaries:
|
Behind-the-Scenes |
| Featurettes:
|
None |
| Filmography/Biography:
|
None |
|
Interviews: |
None |
| Trailers/TV
Spots: |
None |
| Alternate/Deleted
Scenes: |
None |
| Music
Video: |
None |
| Other:
|
None |
| Cast
and Crew: |
Audrey Tatou,
Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sergi Lopez, Sophie Okonedo, Benedict Wong
|
| Written
By: |
Steven Knight
|
| Produced
By: |
Tracey Seaward
and Robert Jones |
| Directed
By: |
Stephen Frears
|
| Music:
|
Nathan Larson
|
| The
Review: |
Tackling another provocative subject,
director Stephen Frears ("Prick Up Your Ears", "Dangerous
Liaisons", "The Grifters") delves into the underworld of London
populated by illegal immigrants and people with dirty secrets
hiding in every closet. Okwe is a Nigerian immigrant who has
entered England illegally. A former medical student, he now
drives a cab by day and works as at the bell desk of a hotel
by night. One of the hookers that frequents the hotel suggests
to Okwe that room 510 needs to be cleaned up. He goes up to
the room and discovers the hotel toilet overflowing. When
he clears the blockage he discovers a healthy, human heart.
The hotel manager doesn't want the police to become involved
and Okwe can't reveal what he has discovered himself without
fear of being deported. ***
The mystery obsesses him. He can't
understand how something like this could happen without a
body. He begins to investigate it himself. Senay his Turkish
co-worker at the hotel is also being hounded by immigration
disrupting their love affair. The mystery gradually draws
both of them further in until they feel compelled to do something
about what they discover. ***
A fine gripping thriller, "Dirty
Pretty Things" takes turns the conventional mystery thriller
on its head. Both Chiwetel Ejiofor and Audrey Tautou give
commendable, believable performances. Frears unusual thriller
won the London Critics Award and the Venice Film Festival.
This brisk thriller stretches the limits of the genre and,
although it isn't quite as powerful as "The Grifters", it
still manages to keep your interest with a fascinating story
and strong performances. It's a pity the film has been saddled
with such a disjointed, difficult title as people looking
for a thriller will think it's a softcore porn movie. ---
|
| Image
and Sound: |
The color
palette in some scenes is a bit off, but nothing very dramatic.
A few key scenes take place at night and in the shadows, and
these scenes might have been a bit better. Overall though, this
is pretty solid. No are no really detrimental flaws, and the
shadow loss and color problems are not serious defects. ***
The sound is quite good throughout the film, though the dialogue
suffers in a few scenes, particularly if anything happens to
be exploding at the time. Surrounds are fairly well used, and
there is a lot of range to the overall effort,but the sound
is delivered quite well on the DVD. - |
| The
Extras: |
The "Behind-The-Scenes"
special isn't anything unusual although it does provide Frears
with the opportunity to articulate what his specific aims were
with the film. There aren't any outtakes nor are there any deleted
scenes although with a running time of 96 minutes there were
probably a number of fine moments that were cut due to pacing.
While they might have hampered the film, the DVD would be an
appropriate place to give any of these character moments an
airing. --- |
| Commentary:
|
Frears comes
across as one of the more articulate and intelligent directors
in his commentary track. We learn a number of tid bits about
the film including what attracted him to the actors he ended
up with for both the leads and various character roles. There's
also a glimpse into Frears unique ability to bring out the best
in his actors evident in many of the comments heard throughout
the commentary track. Although Frears comments provide insight
into the film, Tatou and Ejiofor might have provided an interesting
perspective as well. While it's always nice to hear the director's
take on the film, usually we've seen that in the finished product.
The actors perform at the mercy of the director and editor and
sometimes comments on their performances provide additional
insight into the film. --- |
| Final
Words: |
A fine, topical
thriller, "Dirty Pretty Things" unfortunately has the type of
title that would be a marketing person's nightmare. Underneath
this unwieldy title hides a unique thriller that continues to
broaden Frears' mastery as a film director. The performance
of newcomer Chiwetel Ejiofor and veteran actress Tatou bring
these wonderfully complex characters to life. The film also
provides a unique social commentary within the structure of
the thriller. Frears, like Hitchcock, has made the thriller
films he has directed unique and very much his own. |
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