Dirty Pretty Things Essay Questions

Why can't Okwe return home to Africa?

Okwe has escaped Africa after the death of his wife. She was murdered by authorities in his country who demanded he cover up a previous murder they committed. When Okwe would not do it, they set his house on fire with his wife inside. If he returns to Africa he will be killed, and must get a new identity before ever going back.

Why is there a heart in the toilet?

Okwe finds a human heart in the toilet of one of the rooms at the hotel. He brings it to the attention of his manager, Sneaky, who dismisses it. Soon he learns that Sneaky has set up a black market for selling human organs in the hotel. In exchange for donating their kidneys and other organs, desperate undocumented immigrants get a new identity and passport from Sneaky. The only problem is that the surgeries that Sneaky has performed on the desperate immigrants are often shoddy and unsafe.

What is unexpected about the ending of the film?

The film stays true to its more unique and unflinching tone up until the end when Senay and Okwe go to the airport. While most "Hollywood" versions of this ending would have the two immigrants declaring their love for one another and going to America together, in Dirty Pretty Things, matters are more complicated. Okwe must return to Nigeria to find his daughter, Valerie, while Senay goes to New York. Even though they are in love with one another, Senay and Okwe must go their separate ways.

What is interesting about the tone of the film?

The film's tone is unique in that, while many harrowing and disturbing events happen throughout the film, they are often treated with a light touch. This is not to say that the events are made light of—indeed, an organ black market, sweatshop labor, the threat of deportation, and rape are all very harrowing and sobering realities—but rather that they are treated with a straightforward briskness. Director Stephen Frears never belabors the tragedies his characters face; rather, he lets the drama speak for itself. The tone of the film does not sensationalize these trials that the immigrants face, but rather shows them as realities of their survival and existence.

What does Guo Yi mean when he says, "There's nothing so dangerous as a virtuous man"?

When Okwe wants to investigate more about the organ black market that Sneaky is running out of the hotel, he takes a moral stance in relation to it, and thinks that Sneaky is doing something very wrong. Guo Yi, Okwe's more practical friend, advises him to not get too mixed up in the situation, and suggests that being "virtuous" is actually dangerous, especially in this situation. Even though Guo Yi thinks it would be better for an undocumented immigrant like Okwe to keep his head down and play ignorant, Okwe wants to stay true to what he thinks is right.