Tell No One Review

A compelling, tightly wound thriller.

Navigating the terrain of this film is much like going on a road trip with a short-sighted map reader; just when the audience thinks it’s on the right track, a new sign appears, the brakes are on and a whole new trajectory is taken at a faster speed.

The film’s central character is Alex (Francois Cluzet), a widower who has weathered eight years of inconsolable grief since his wife Margot (Marie-Josee Croze) was brutally – and inexplicably – murdered whilst night-swimming at a lake. Alex is the prime suspect but manages to avoid prosecution due to a lack of evidence. Nevertheless, the police have always suspected him and are able to reopen the case when the bodies of two men are discovered at the lake. For Alex, this is the beginning of a psychological maelstrom as, within days, he receives an email with a link to footage of his wife, filmed in real time and looking very much alive. But who sent the email? And is it possible that Margot is not really dead?

An intricate web of conspiracies strung amidst a stellar supporting cast (including director Guillaume Canet who’s best known as an actor in films such as The Beach and Hunting & Gathering) keeps the audience reeling from one half-formed conclusion to the next, all the while marvelling at the ways in which Alex manages to evade both the nefarious thugs (an amazing chase scene set piece is one of the film’s highlights) that are hunting him and the equally strong arm of the Gendarmerie. A stand-out performance comes from Kristin Scott-Thomas, who plays a French native very convincingly, and offers her arch sophistication to what could have been a very forgettable role.

Overall, this is a taut, economical and artful adaptation of Harlan Coben’s pulp novel, and will undoubtedly be appropriated by Hollywood for an English language remake in the not-too-distant future.

Filmink 4/5

Watch 'Tell No One'

Tuesday 25 May, 8:30pm on SBS World Movies (streaming after broadcast at SBS On Demand)
Thursday 27 May, 1:15am on SBS World Movies

MA15+

France, 2006

Genre: Drama, Crime, Mystery

Language: French

Director: Guillaume Canet

Starring: Kristin Scott Thomas, Marie-Josée Croze, André Dussollier, Marina Hands, François Cluzet