This French language thriller, based on the novel by Harlan Coben, is driven by an exemplary performance from François Cluzet. He looks amazingly like a young Dustin Hoffman and his acting also stands up to the comparison.
The film begins with the fatal interruption of a young couple's blissful existence and then jumps forward almost a decade to find our star still struggling to get his life back on track. A cryptic email stirs up unanswered questions about his wife's death and the rest of the movie is about solving the mystery of what really happened.
The plot takes our lead through a string of detective work, while the police approach the matter from their own direction, but before long there are other parties involved and people start getting hurt. As an audience, we're kept on our toes as the plot twists and turns and we learn more about the life of the murdered wife. Every step makes sense in retrospect, even if the whole seems hard to grasp at times. It was one of those films where you want to pause it and confirm that what you think is going on really is.
It's definitely a story that makes you want to figure out what's happening and keeps you working right to the end, but Tell No One is also a masterpiece of pacing and action. There's a fantastic chase sequence in the middle that feels really exciting and tense, but stays well within the bounds of realism. You can believe it, in contrast to scenes from Bourne or Bond that may look similar on paper.
I think that's the genius of this movie. It's completely believable, yet the experiences of the main character are just extraordinary enough to be thrilling. Then there are compelling characters in the secondary roles that supply humour, fear and intrigue without succumbing to overly stereotypical forms.
In short, you should watch this film. It's brilliant.
Tell No One
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