TELL NO ONE
The DVD for French thriller TELL NO ONE hit Region 2 shelves this week, OWF gives the film the once over.
Its strange that the film version of Harlan Cobens novel Tell No One, out on DVD this week in the UK, comes not in the form of a glittering A-list vehicle for a Hanks or Cruise, but instead a modestly budgeted French film from actor turned director Guillame Canet (the third wheel in The Beachs flimsy romantic sub-plot).
Youd think a twisting-turning story with morally duplicitous characters would be prime material for a Hollywood adaptation. Yet here this isnt the case. Director and screenwriter Canet relocates Tell No One from New Jersey to Paris and injects some Gaelic flair into the most un-French of genres: the blockbuster thriller. Think of French cinema and usually images are conjured of something distinctly art-house from Godard or Truffaut. Here, Canet crafts a slick film that matches up to any American thriller in recent memory. The plot centres on Alex Beck - a doctor still grieving for his murdered wife Margot - who starts to receive messages from beyond the grave. When a woman resembling Margot appears on a webcam feed sent to Alexs laptop he begins to believe she may still be alive. Soon a cryptic clue that cleverly weaves U2s With or Without You onto the soundtrack leads Alex to an email message with instructions to meet Margot. As new evidence emerges suggesting Alex may have been his wifes killer and some of his close friends start to get bumped off, he finds himself on the run. The films high point, a sequence where Alex leaps from his office window and is pursued by police in a frantic foot chase through Paris is exhilarating, edge-of-the-seat stuff, and wouldnt look out of place in a Jason Bourne film. The cast, a whos who of contemporary French cinema, are on form creating memorable and engaging characters - all the more remarkable considering most get only fleeting screen time. The film ultimately rests on the shoulders of Francois Cluzet, and his vacant-eyed expression (reminiscent of a young Dustin Hoffman) perfectly brings us into his state of mind - one of panic, confusion and desperation to be reunited with his wife. The plot unfolds briskly but does suffer from a few problems, namely a third act exposition dump so long that it brings the film to an abrupt halt. Nevertheless, its easy to overlook this when Cluzet has been on such a thrill ride that you are gunning to see this journey resolved for him. Canets direction is slick and precise and the ease with which he builds suspense and weaves a dense plot around strong, well-defined characters is to be commended. He is without question a filmmaker to watch. Tell No One is a refreshing and unexpected little gem in a marketplace cluttered with sequels, remakes and cheap horror flicks. Its an excellent way to pass a couple of hours. Tell Every One is perhaps a more apt title.