The International Writers Magazine: Movie Review

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Tell No One (Ne le dis à personne) Director: Guillaume Canet Producer: Alain Attal Editor: Hervé de Luze Screenwriter: Guillaume Canet, Philippe Lefebvre, based on the novel by Harlan Coben Cinematographer: Christophe Offenstein Music: Mathieu Chedid France, 2006, 126 Minute Running Time Genres: Detective/Mystery, Thriller Language: French - English Sub-Titles Principal Cast: François Cluzet, André Dussollier, Marie-Josée Croze, Kristin Scott Thomas, François Berléand • Sam North Review Harlan Coben’s novel Tell No One is now an action-packed adaptation directed by heartthrob Guillaume Canet. Featuring an interesting cast, this thriller revolves around a paediatrician, who unexpectedly gets an email from his wife eight years after she was mysteriously murdered and he left for dead in a lake.

It’s a lyrical beginning. Two people much in love go swimming in a lake a long way from anywhere, a place they have been going to since they were childhood lovers. When the wife (Marie-Joses Croze) goes back to the car to get the dog, she is murdered, the husband Alex, played by Francois Cluzet, hears her cry and swims to her rescue but is assaulted and left for dead.

Eight years later he is a changed man. Still working professionally as a paediatrician, but he still visits his dead wife’s’ parents, can’t forget her and can’t move on. His lesbian restaurant owning sister Kristin Scott Thomas wants him to forget her but he can’t and won’t. He truly loved her. Then on the anniversary of her death he begins to get some emails – untraceable emails that appear to be from his dead wife. Under pressure from a rich politician who is unbeknownst to the Doctor monitoring his emails, some mysterious and ruthless people are seeking his dead wife, driven by revenge for the death of a Senator’s son. Then two bodies get discovered in shallow graves near the murder site, possibly the corpses of her assassins. Did Alex kill them? .It’s a complex plot. The police now suddenly think that he murdered his wife for the insurance money and he is under investigation.

The dead wife sets an appointment for him to meet her and he is convinced that she is indeed alive, but the police have arrived at the hospital to arrest him and he goes AWOL in spectacular fashion, running across the periphique, the intensely busy motorway that circles Paris. (This is a good sequence and they used 8 cameras to get the shot as cars whiz by and crash as he runs for it).

This is a desperate man; not caring about the consequences, all he wants is to see the woman he loved and know that it is real.

But then, what about the autopsy? Who died? What about his father in law, the cop who identified her body? What about the woman who photographed his wife covered in bruises just before the murder? Did he beat her? Is he guilty? Why is this woman tortured and shot and he blamed for her murder? What is going on? Alex escapes into the Flea market in Paris

There seems to be police within police and every moment suspicions deepen that the Doctor is guilty and he really did kill his wife and slash her face in many places. Who can Alex turn to for help, seems there is only one man, a possibly corrupt gangster from the suburbs whose kid he once saved. This forms an unlikely alliance but truly spices up the film and adds some unexpected humour as well.

It’s a police thriller, reset in France, away from the books American origins and Harlan Coben fans will not be disappointed. The Director himself was scared to show the film to Harlan, as he has changed some elements and particularly the ending, but the writer agreed this ending was better and the film is a tense ride throughout. Francois Cluzet is great and the accused Doctor Alex, never once over the top, never heroic, but resolute. Kristin Scott Thomas is a nice surprise in a French movie and André Dussollier is as ever the stalwart smooth performer as his ex-cop father in law.

The film has character, a great soundtrack (done in one take and live) and you have the enthusiasm of young director/actor who is showcasing to the world what he can do and do well. You might remember Guillaume Canet from the movie ‘The Beach’ but here he plays against type as a paedophile.

It you want an intelligent thriller with some great action and an amazing soundtrack, Tell No One start this June in the UK and it’s well worth viewing. Already a success in France with 3 million admissions, you should see this.

© Sam North June 2007
Course Leader of the Masters in Creative Writing at Portsmouth University
Editor

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