Tell No One

Tell No One is a 2006 French thriller film directed by Guillaume Canet and based on the 2001 novel of the same name by Harlan Coben. Written by Canet and Philippe Lefebvre and starring François Cluzet, the film won four categories at the 2007 César Awards in France: Best Director (Guillaume Canet), Best Actor (François Cluzet), Best Editing and Best Music Written for a Film.
Plot
Dr. Alexandre Beck has been slowly putting his life back together since his wife, Margot, was apparently murdered by a serial killer using wild attack animals eight years before. However, Alex finds himself implicated in a double homicideeven though he knows nothing of the crimes. The same day, he receives an email that appears to be from Margot, which includes a link to surveillance footage that shows his wife looking alive and well; the message warns Alex that they are both being watched. As Alex struggles to stay one step ahead of the law, henchmen intimidate his acquaintances into telling them whatever they might know about him, eventually killing a friend named Charlotte. In the meantime, Alex's lesbian sister Anne persuades her well-off partner Hélène to hire a respected attorney, Élisabeth Feldman, to handle his case.
Margot attempts to arrange a meeting with Alex by sending him an email that he must read in an internet café to avoid being spied on. Before this meeting can take place, a warrant is issued for Alex's arrest for Charlotte's murder. Alex goes on the run whilst his friends and lawyers struggle to find out the truth about the murder and Margot's reappearance. As he is being pursued by police, Alex is rescued by Bruno, a gangster from a rough part of the city who feels he owes Alex a favor. The mysterious henchmen reappear to prevent Alex's meeting with his wife, but he is rescued once again by Bruno. Margot is seen almost escaping on a flight to Buenos Aires. Élizabeth proves that Alex has an alibi for Charlotte's murder thanks to eyewitness accounts at the internet café.
Alex notes the numerous mysteries about his wife's deathmysterious photos of her covered in bruises and traces of heroin in her body. He soon discovers that Margot's father Jacques Laurentin faked her death: she had discovered that Philippe Neuville, the young son of a local aristocrat and governor Gilbert Neuville, was a pedophile rapist whose activities were covered up with help from the police; when she confronted him, Philippe beat her, causing the bruises. Jacques explains that he walked in on the beating and shot Philippe. Gilbert Neuville hired thugs to kill Margot in a phone call. Having tapped the phone call, Jacques doubled the payout for one of the thugs in order to get him to fake her murder instead, kill the other thug and knocking out Alex in the process. After shooting the second thug and burying both, Jacques used the body of a dead heroin addict to stand in for Margot. It is also revealed that Gilbert actually hired hitman to kill Charlotte. Furthermore, Jacques also reveals that Alex's father used to work as horse ranch manager for Gilbert. When he witnessed Philippe raped a young girl, he reported to Jacques but Gilbert paid off the police and had him killed. Enraged, Alex shouts at Jacques for keeping the secrets the entire time. Jacques apologizes and gives Alex a document contains all the evidences of Gilbert's crimes.
Police, listening in on the father's confession, attempt to arrest him, but he shoots himself dead before they can do so. It is revealed that Jacques knew Alex was wearing a wire, and that during a moment in which he had blocked the bug's transmission, had told Alex one last thing: it was in fact Margot who shot Philippe after he beat her; Jacques was covering up her crime, not his. His actions have ensured that she will never be suspected. Philippe's father is arrested, and Alex and Margot reunite at the lake where they fell in love as children.
Cast
François Cluzet: Alexandre Beck
Marie-Josée Croze: Margot Beck
André Dussollier: Jacques Laurentin
Kristin Scott Thomas: Hélène Perkins
François Berléand: Eric Levkowitch
Nathalie Baye: Maître Elisabeth Feldman
Jean Rochefort: Gilbert Neuville
Marina Hands: Anne Beck
Gilles Lellouche: Bruno
Philippe Lefebvre: Lieutenant Philippe Meynard
Florence Thomassin: Charlotte Bertaud
Olivier Marchal: Bernard Valenti
Guillaume Canet: Philippe Neuville
Brigitte Catillon: Captain Barthas
Samir Guesmi: Lieutenant Saraoui
Jean-Pierre Lorit: Lavelle
Jalil Lespert: Yaël Gonzales
Éric Savin: The prosecutor
: Pierre Ferrault
Philippe Canet: François Beck
: Madame Beck
Laurent Lafitte: The Basque
Martine Chevallier: Martine Laurentin
Thierry Neuvic: Marc Bertaud
Mika'ela Fisher: Zak
Françoise Bertin: Antoinette Levkowitch
Andrée Damant: Simone
Pierre-Benoist Varoclier: Nurse
Anne Marivin: Alex's secretary
Sara Martins: Bruno's friend
Production
The script made several alterations to the book; a torture expert changed from an Asian male to a white female, and the identity of the killer was switched. The book's author was quoted in an interview as saying that the film's ending was better than his original ending.
Reception
Tell No One was well received both critically and commercially.
Academy Award-winning British actor Michael Caine said of the film it was the best he had seen in 2007 on the BBC's Film 2007 programme. He also included it among his Top Ten movies of all time in his 2010 autobiography, The Elephant to Hollywood.
Critical response
Rotten Tomatoes gives Tell No One a "Certified Fresh" rating of 94% based on reviews from 104 critics. Metacritic give the film 82/100 based on reviews from 30 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
Box office
The film generated $17million in ticket sales during its first four weeks at the French box office. In total, the film grossed $22,194,261 in France becoming the 12th highest-grossing film of the year with 3,111,809 tickets sold. Music Box Films acquired the rights to the film and gave it a limited theatrical release on July 2, 2008. The film opened in eight theaters grossing $169,707 during its opening weekend. In total, the film grossed $6,177,192 in North America.
Top ten lists
The film appeared on many critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2008.
1st: Marc Doyle, Metacritic.com
2nd: Marjorie Baumgarten, The Austin Chronicle
7th: Kimberly Jones, The Austin Chronicle
7th: Marc Mohan, The Oregonian
7th: Shawn Levy, The Oregonian
8th: Stephen Holden, The New York Times
9th: Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
10th: Ann Hornaday, The Washington Post
10th: Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
References
External links
2006 films
2006 LGBT-related films
2006 psychological thriller films
2000s French films
2000s French-language films
French LGBT-related films
French psychological thriller films
French serial killer films
Lesbian-related films
Films based on American novels
Films based on thriller novels
Films directed by Guillaume Canet
Films produced by Luc Besson
Films featuring a Best Actor César Award-winning performance
Films whose director won the Best Director César Award
Best Film Lumières Award winners