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A marvellous suspense-thriller that keeps the audience guessing until the very end with twists and turns that would surprise Hitchcock, Tell No One is a tense, old-school murder mystery served up with panache. The film stars François Cluzet as a paediatrician whose wife is apparently murdered by a serial killer. Eight years later, however, he receives an e-mail that suggests she may still be alive. As he begins to search for the truth, it transpires that he is not the only one on the trail.

Filmmaker Guillaume Canet, an actor-director best known in Britain for his supporting role in The Beach, delivers some superb action sequences, including the best cinematic foot chase in recent years, in which even a busy dual carriageway cannot halt the pursuit. He also employs some ingenious devices to rack up tension – when a crucial e-mail attachment gradually downloads, only to crash at the last moment, the hero’s frustration is palpable.

Adapted from a novel by US mystery writer Harlan Coben, the film continues the cinematic tradition of adding a European twist to Anglophone crime novels (see also Truffaut’s Shoot the Pianist and Almodóvar's Live Flesh), and also cleverly borrows motifs from classic crime movies (The French Connection, Laura). A surprise commercial smash in France and the UK, it will almost inevitably become a watered-down Hollywood remake – all the more reason to catch the original now.

A host of excellent actors fill out the cast, from screen veterans to rising stars. Cluzet is superb in the lead, and won a César for his efforts as the sympathetic hero who knows even less than the audience. But ultimately the plaudits go to Canet, who keeps the tension from the opening shot, and who manages to deliver a surprising ending that does not short-change his audience. Multiple viewings will be needed to glean every twist, but this is a rare film where they will be a pleasure.

 

Alex Davidson on 10th September 2007
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