Tell No One (2006)

Film Review - French Mystery - Thriller

Mar 31, 2009 Martin G. Wood

One of the most tightly-wound, well-constructed murder mysteries to come along in many a year, Tell No One delivers a satisfying resolution to an impossibly good set-up.

Friends and family spend a nice weekend out in the country; a picturesque summer setting complete with food, wine, and conversation.

After everyone has gone, and the water on the lake is still, Alexandre Beck (Francois Cluzet) and his wife Margot (Marie-Josee Croze) will disrupt the quiet lake by shedding their clothes and skinny-dipping; before lifting themselves out of the water, exhausted and drained onto a floating raft.

After a bit of small talk and affectionate caressing, a rift emerges between the two over money and the possibility of selling the farm and lake house. Margot, upset, dives away from Alexandre and swims to the shore; Alexandre calls after her to please come back.

After watching Margot dissolve into the thick brush and darkness, Alexandre lies on his back, facing the sky. And suddenly a loud scream; Alexandre jumps up; it's clear Margot is screaming for help; Alexandre dives in, swims to shore; climbs the dock's ladder, before being belted in the face by a baseball bat.

Tell no one, they are watching...

Title card reads: 8 Years Later. Alexandre is at work, in a medical clinic, attending to young patients; carrying on the life of a pediatrician. At lunch, Alexandre's friend Helene (Kristin Scott Thomas) attempts, unsuccessfully, to convince him to let it go, to move on, to not dwell on the fact that it is the 8th anniversary of Margot's death.

Upon returning to the clinic, Alexandre receives the message from his receptionist no one wants to hear (especially in a crime drama): a detective called, asked to speak with you, said it's urgent. It seems two bodies were found buried a couple of miles from the farm where the violent incident took place 8 years prior.

The detectives need the good doctor's permission to excavate the bodies, in order to do DNA tests; leading to a possible re-opening of the case. The detectives further require a DNA sample from Alexandre as well; for the authorities still harbor suspicions about the culpability of Alexandre in his wife's murder.

As Alexandre sits amongst a lively world of children, mothers, and lovers enjoying a day in the park, he flashes back and forth between his wedding day with Margot and the day of her funeral. The scene is haunting and hypnotic.

Back at the clinic, in between patients, Alexandre checks his email; an attachment opens a video clip; Alexandre sits frozen, staring at the computer screen, the video, which appears to be a surveillance clip, shows a crowd of people walking in and out of an entrance way, a young lady with her back to the camera stops, turns, and looks directly into the camera; it's Margot. The video includes a message reading: Tell no one, they are watching.

Murder Mysteries On Film

So often, murder mysteries on film set-up fantastic and thrilling scenarios, compelling the viewer to continue on, to find out what happens next, to solve the mystery; only to leave the viewer deflated and dejected by an implausible and contrived ending.

Tell No One is one of the few movies made in recent years that actually provides well-crafted and skillful answers to questions delicately implanted in the minds of the audience; aided by a strong performance by Francois Cruzet, looking every bit like a Marathon Man era Dustin Hoffman; scene after scene is elevated by the actor's curious and deliberate mannerisms.

In Hitchcock's Vertigo, the mystery lay with the one in pursuit of answers, Jimmy Stewart, attempting to reconcile an unimaginable loss. In George Sluizer's The Vanishing, the focus surrounded the actual perpetrator of the crimes, leaving the hero at the periphery. Guillaume Canet (who also plays the role of Philippe) has skillfully directed a film with a bit of Vertigo, and a touch of The Vanishing.

The copyright of the article Tell No One (2006) in Foreign Films is owned by Martin G. Wood. Permission to republish Tell No One (2006) in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.