Dirty Pretty Things

Dirty Pretty Things Literary Elements

Director

Stephen Frears

Leading Actors/Actresses

Chiwetel Ejiofor, Audrey Tautou

Supporting Actors/Actresses

Benedict Wong, Sergi López, Sophie Okonedo

Genre

Crime, Drama, Thriller

Language

English

Awards

Nominated for Academy Award for Best Writing--Original Screenplay

Date of Release

2002

Producer

Robert Jones, Tracey Seaward

Setting and Context

London, 2002

Narrator and Point of View

Mostly the POV is Okwe's or Senay's.

Tone and Mood

Dramatic, Serious, Light-hearted at times

Protagonist and Antagonist

Protagonists are Okwe and Senay. Antagonist is Sneaky

Major Conflict

Okwe discovers that his boss, Sneaky, is running a black market organ-selling business out of the hotel at which he works. Sneaky threatens to hand Okwe over to the authorities if he tries to stop it.

Climax

Okwe tricks Sneaky and sedates him. He operates on Sneaky and takes out his kidney instead of Senay's, and he and Senay are able to escape.

Foreshadowing

The heart in the hotel toilet foreshadows the danger ahead.

Understatement

Senay's various sexual assaults are understated by the characters.

Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques

N/A

Allusions

Allusions to Islam.

Paradox

Okwe feels responsible for the murder of his wife even though his action which eventually led to her death was ethically courageous.

Parallelism

The sexual abuse forced upon Senay by the sweat shop owner is paralleled by Sneaky demanding sex for Senay's passport later in the film.