The poetic justice is a bit precious for a film otherwise grounded in a tough reality, but there is a guilty satisfaction to it all, and Ejiofor’s haunting performance burns itself into the film...

| May 6, 2023

A suspenseful, often funny, completely disturbing thriller, Dirty Pretty Things is a gripping film right out of the gate.

| Nov 19, 2020

This hypnotic, chilling thriller deals with people living in the margins: in this case, London's exploited immigrants...Steven Knight's smart, if overly plotted, script delivers social insights tautly wrapped in genre thrills.

| Mar 13, 2018

Although Steve Knight's Oscar-nominated script gets a bit on the nose discussing those who pretty that which we dirty, it tells a compelling tale of perseverance, with a final sound effect like hope gaining altitude.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Sep 25, 2010

| Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 7, 2008

Here he strikes a perfect balance between social commentary and melodrama, while nudging his actors to turn potentially stereotypical figures (eg, a virginal waif, a golden-hearted whore, a philosophical Chinese) into three-dimensional people.

| Nov 27, 2007

An intelligent and extremely well-made romantic drama that tells an intriguing story with economy and insight.

Full Review | Nov 27, 2007

An impressive mix of entertainment and social comment, spinning a great mystery even as it confronts an ugly world.

| Nov 27, 2007

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jul 14, 2007

Dirty Pretty Things benefits from the best script...hands down, written for a movie released in 2003

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Aug 21, 2006

A sympathetic, engaging and politically astute slice of modern urban realism, set in the twilight world of London's community of recent immigrants and asylum seekers, and directed with Frears' habitual professionalism and sensitivity.

| Jan 26, 2006

With his new film, the 2002 Toronto Film Fest favorite Dirty Pretty Things, Frears returns to the realm of the dark and twisted with gutsy aplomb.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Dec 12, 2005

Offers a frills-free meditation on the many faces of oppression.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Dec 6, 2005

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jul 16, 2005

It's involving, well-directed and well-acted.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 5, 2005

A tour through shady dealings and sufferings that could be set in any big city on either side of the Atlantic. Frears ... cleverly dodges the curse of social dilemma films.

| Original Score: A- | Jan 15, 2005

...an incredibly entertaining picture with a first-rate ensemble cast. It seems to unwind at precisely the right pace, and its gritty look is never ostentatiously "beautiful"

Full Review | Original Score: A- | Jan 8, 2005

The less you know the more you'll enjoy it.

| Original Score: 7/10 | Oct 7, 2004

Even when bad things happen to these people, one can't help but believe that things will one day get better.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Sep 5, 2004

The synchronicity between script, stars and cinematography falls square on the shoulders of Frears, however, and he fully realizes the potential.

| May 21, 2004