Tell No One is one of those pretentious artsy movies that gives artsy movies a bad name. I cannot fathom why some critics think this movie as a superb suspense in the same vein of classic Hitchcock films. It is an insult to Hitchcock to compare this movie to any of his work.
Tell No One is consumed with a man’s search for his supposedly dead wife. It is intended as a suspense thriller, a love story and an expose on corruption within police force and high places. However, it is seriously short on wit, charm and narrative senses. The story is a mess! Pediatrician Alexander Beck (played by Francois Cluzet) receives a strange email that informs him that his dead wife is actually still alive. 8 years ago his wife died in a mysterious brutal attack and he was the prime suspect. Now Alex is determined to get to the truth. The dominant theme of this film is love. The deep love between Alex and his wife, Margot (played by Marie-Josee Croze) propels Alex into taking all kinds of risks and makes him never give up on finding what has really happened to Margot. The problem with the script is that everything that happens in the movie just doesn’t feel believable. It is nice to watch a “love conquers all” film, but when the story that supports the undying love doesn’t ring true, even a die hard romantic such as I cannot sit through it without shaking my head.
Tell No One is based on Harlan Coben’s same name novel. Since I have not read the book, I don’t know if the script problems come from the source material or inept adaptation. Co-writer/director Guillaume Canet is a heartthrob in France as an actor and maybe he should stay focused on being in front of the camera instead of behind it. Not only is the script lame, but also the visual style is extremely dull.
The cast is attractive and competent given there are really not much they can do to improve the credibility of the script. I guess only on screen, an actor 15 years older than his co-star can be paired together as childhood sweethearts. Cluzet is visibly much older than Croze and making the audience believe that they grow up together is simply another hard sell, among many in this terrible script. I am glad to see Kristin Scott Thomas is still working. She is one bright spot in this otherwise dull movie. Even though she may be considered far past her prime by Hollywood standard, her natural luminance shines on screen. Europeans seem to not only have a good taste for vantage wine, they also seem to appreciate mature women. I hope Hollywood studios will learn from their European cohorts and use actresses such as Thomas more often in American productions.
Not only does Tell No One have no market for general American audience, it also doesn’t have a place for any artsy crowd. Kristin Scott Thomas may temporarily make the movie more bearable, but it doesn’t work for two hours.
