Frears tells an unlikely story, of a network of undocumented workers who help one another gain some control over their lives, through the suspense of a psychological thriller. The plot primarily concerns the discovery of an underground organ market being run out of a seedy London hotel, but Frears uses this more heavily plotted frame to explore the more emotional and thematic elements of immigrant life and human connection.
Frears wields a surprisingly light touch throughout the film, often creating a rather casual tone in circumstances that might be treated with more melodrama and tragedy by another director. Throughout the film, characters face blackmail, the threat of deportation, rape, and other sordid circumstances, yet Frears keeps the atmosphere somewhat light and situations change on a dime.
Frears alluded to his interest in mixing tonalities in an interview with Indiewire, in which he said, "I like that the film transgresses the restrictions imposed on it. In other words, you’re supposed to make a film in one way, but I’ll make one that has this and this and that in it. This may be foolish on my part, but it seems quite genuine. Actually, mixing genres is what I grew up on. That’s what Warner Brothers made their money on. All those films in the ’30s in which the story was taken out of the headlines, like Angels with Dirty Faces, about juvenile delinquents, with James Cagney. I grew up when films were both entertaining and dealt with serious matters. I don’t see any contradiction. Hitchcock, too, dealt with serious matters: redemption and guilt—dealt with them in a popular way. It suits me to be both serious and frivolous at the same time."
