Tell No One (Ne le dis a personne) is a mystery thriller about a pediatrician suspected in a murder. He has to try to clear his name.
This is one of the most intelligent, satisfying, beautifully plotted adrenalin boosts you're ever likely to experience at the movies, and now we have to figure out a way to get to the end of this review without giving away any further information.
The less you know about Tell No One going in, the happier you'll be coming out.
We can tell you that Francois Cluzet stars as the hapless physician, a man who comes to doubt everything he knows about the world. Cluzet's character, Alex Beck, is a man who has shut himself off, emotionally speaking, from everyone. He has time for his sister and her lover (Kristin Scott Thomas), but that's about it.
Tell No One is a story of hope and fear, and it works because one is sympathetic toward the character of Dr. Beck. He is single-minded when it comes to solving the film's central mystery, and as such he is thrown into life-or-death situations. Tell No One has its share of violence and action; there's gunplay, gangsters, dead bodies, a terrifying torture expert, an inspired foot/car chase and lashings of dread and suspicion. It's delicious. We just don't want to get too specific.
The complicated story is brought to life by a very strong cast, which includes roles for several grand fromages of French cinema, among them Jean Rochefort, Nathalie Baye and Francois Berleand.
The director, Guillaume Canet, is a well-known French actor whose directorial debut, My Idol, established his skill as a filmmaker. He has adapted the best-selling Harlan Coben novel, Tell No One, co-writing the screenplay with Philippe Lefebvre. Canet even makes a cameo as the son of a politician.
The film has been a massive hit in Europe, winning Cesar awards in France for best actor, director, editing and music, and gathering various other award wins and nominations all last year.
Working simultaneously as a love story and a thriller, Tell No One is bound to appeal to grown up viewers who grow weary of being cheated, plot-wise, in the third act of every mystery. The film is in French, with English subtitles; people who never go to movies with subtitles might want to make an exception, just this once. Enough said.
(This film is rated 14-A)
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