Tell No One (2006)

In 7 words or less: Innocent murder suspect on run; suspenseful thriller.

What's it all About? The main character in Ne le dis à personne (Tell No One), Alexandre Beck (François Cluzet), is a haunted man. He was once very happily married to his childhood sweetheart, Margot (Marie-Josée Croze). But 8 years ago, the couple was on vacation at their cottage, when she was brutally murdered. Whoever was responsible knocked Alex out, killed Margot and got away. To les flics, much of Alex's story doesn't add up. He was found on the dock at the lake on their property, unconscious. If he was knocked cold in the water, why didn't he drown? Who pulled him to safety? But they could never definitely pin it on him. The authorities were forced to officially conclude that Margot's murder was the work of a serial killer in the area at the time.

Now, in the present, the bodies of two men have been found near where Margot's was found, and Alex's name has come up again as the press and law enforcement rehash the case. Margot's autopsy photos have disappeared from the report, she had a safe deposit box Alex was unaware of (the key was on one of the newly-discovered bodies), and someone who knows all about Alex is sending him creepy anonymous emails. Could it be Margot? But then, whose body was cremated instead of hers? When Margot's best friend is killed, the murder weapon is found in his apartment and Alex runs. In order to clear his name, he needs to find out what really happened. What did Gilbert Neuville (Jean Rochefort), the local tycoon who seems to control everything, have to do with it? Why has he hired some goons to rough Alex up? A large cast of family, friends, and assorted others (played by Kristin Scott Thomas, Gilles Lellouche, Guillaume Canet, and Nathalie Baye, among others) help or hinder Alex in his efforts as a dogged police detective (François Berléand from the Transporter movies) pursues him unrelentingly.

Best bits? Guillaume Canet, known in the US mostly as an actor or possibly as Marion Cotillard's boyfriend, wrote, directed and takes a small role in Tell No One. The film's central concept — a wrongly accused man on the run — is thoroughly in film noir territory, while the imagery and use of sound reminded me of David Lynch's work. The story of Alex and Margot's earlier life, the murder and its aftermath is told in flashbacks that are interspersed with the present day so seamlessly that we don't always know what is the present and what is the past, or how long ago it happened. This technique effectively captures the nature of grief, how the mind will flit back instantaneously into memory, triggered suddenly by random images or thoughts.

Did it make you think thoughts? The longer you watch, the clearer the past becomes, and the more muddled the present. Canet creates three-dimensional characters and manages the story expertly. The cast is uniformly excellent; Cluzet is memorable as Alex, a man who harbors 8 years' anger and sadness just under the surface as he finds his way through the labyrinth. As in any good noir, genteel behaviour can harbor psychotic tendencies and extreme corruption, just as thuggery may conceal loyalty and decency. But this unpredictable film transcends film noir tropes. It has the capability to surprise, which is saying a lot. And although there are some inconsistencies here and there, Tell No One is a suspenseful and very entertaining ride.

Would you watch it again? Yes, absolutely.

Rating (out of 100%): 95%