Take your soul to the cleaners - watch Dirty Pretty Things

"We are the people you dont see.  We drive your cabs, clean your rooms, and suck your cocks."

It will feel like your soul has been taken to the laundromat, washed out and wrung dry of all the dirty, pretty things, by the time that line hits you.  

 

This is a story of simple, ordinary people with extraordinary problems.  A story of what happens when impossible situations force an ingeniuty that can only be derived from desperation.  Of exploited people, pushed to their limits, stripped of all reasonable options, and left with nothing except their morals and beliefs.   

Which is what it should be right?  That's why we watch movies like this.  To see the human condition triumph amidst unfavorable odds.  What really sets this movie apart from others is the story telling.

Director Stephen Frears doesnt rely on flash and special effects to try and make the movie pop.  Instead, subtly beautiful cinematography and precision character acting bring our protagonists, Okwe and Senay, to life.  Chiwetel Ejiofor (Talk To Me) and Audrey Tautou (Amelie) are brilliant in their starring roles.  and Sophie Okonedo (Hotel Rwanda) shines brightest among the cast of eccentric supporting characters, who, although at moments appear a little over the top, tip-toeing on caricatures, help paint a picture of the type of lives people in the London underground need to live just to survive.

There is also something quite beautiful about the language each character uses.  Every one of them seems to have a unique and distinct accent and manner of speaking, which meshes elegantly.  Personally, I could listen to an African accent all day long, there is something very calming and peaceful about it.  I'm not familiar with a Turkish accent, but if it all sounds like Senay's, I might be moving to Turkey.

The bottom line is, this movie is amazing.  I don't remember it being out in the US market, and dont think it got too much press over here.  If you have yet to come across it, go find it, it'll be worth it.  By the time the movie ends, your soul will feel clean, fresh and renewed.