Dirty Pretty Things

Okwe, a talented doctor from his unnamed home country, found himself forced to flee after being falsely accused of his wife’s murder. Settling in the United Kingdom as an undocumented immigrant, he struggles to survive by driving a cab during the day and working the night shift at a hotel filled with fellow immigrants, both documented and undocumented. Every day, he faces the weight of his circumstances, often providing medical care for his fellow cab drivers suffering from various ailments, thanks to the antibiotics his friend Guo Yi, who works at a hospital mortuary, manages to provide.

Things take a dark turn when Juliette, a sex worker who often operates at the hotel, alerts Okwe to a blocked toilet. To his horror, he discovers a human heart in the toilet. The hotel manager, Juan, runs a sinister operation wherein immigrants trade kidneys for fake passports. Once Juan learns about Okwe’s medical background, he attempts to force him into his illegal business as a surgeon. However, Okwe is resolute and refuses to participate.

Amidst this turmoil, Senay, a Turkish Muslim seeking asylum, also works as a cleaner at the hotel. Her immigration situation permits her stay in the UK as long as she doesn’t have a job on record, making the hotel an ideal cover for her. Senay offers Okwe a place to rest on her sofa, adhering to her conservative cultural values that prohibit unmarried men and women from sharing the same living space. When Immigration Services come to investigate the hotel, Okwe cleverly diverts their attention away from her.

With job opportunities dwindling, Senay finds work in a sweatshop, but her precarious situation worsens when the officials raid the establishment in search of undocumented workers. The manager, however, allows her to keep her job on the condition that she complies with his lewd demands. Initially, she submits to his advances but later defiantly bites him out of resistance. While searching for a safe space, Okwe helps her find refuge at the hospital mortuary, even as she contemplates accepting Juan’s offer to enter the organ trade to raise money for her journey to America.

In a desperate act, Senay offers her kidney to Juan for a passport. He accepts, but not without demanding to take her virginity first. After receiving a morning-after pill from Juliette, Senay reveals her plan to Okwe, who reluctantly agrees to operate on Juan to protect her. With a devious scheme in place, Okwe and Senay manage to incapacitate Juan, remove one of his kidneys, and sell it to his contact.

With their new identities secured, Okwe dreams of reuniting with his young daughter back in Nigeria while Senay envisions a fresh start in New York. At Stansted Airport, as they are about to part ways, they silently convey their feelings by mouthing “I love you.” As Senay boards her flight, she gives Okwe her cousin’s address in New York before he makes a long-distance call to his daughter, sharing the joyous news that he is finally coming home.

Last Updated: November 15, 2024 at 19:06