Tell No One

Copyright 2009, Magnolia Pictures

I shouldn't be too happy with Magnolia Pictures right now, as I'm one of the unlucky few who ended up buying a Blu-ray of Let The Right One In before I realized all the subtitles had been changed, there wouldn't be any exchanges, and the people who work for Magnolia (or at least one of them) are huge fucking douchebags who don't care about their already-small fanbase. Good way to keep folks happy, guys; don't let us exchange our crappy versions for the RIGHT one. Idiots.

But, since it's been discussed a lot by now and I'd only add more fervent frustration, let's talk about why I'm a little less annoyed at the folks at Magnolia: Tell No One, the French thriller that was brought over to the States for a small, but relatively successful release back in July. Based on an American novel by Harlan Coben, Tell No One is about a man whose wife is killed during a vacation; eight years later, on the anniversary of her death, the man receives a mysterious e-mail featuring a video of a woman near a subway...a woman who looks very much like his dead wife. Or is she dead? Is he going crazy?

That is all the plot you need to know, because if you haven't seen Tell No One, you really must. No, you're probably not going to recognize many faces (though Kristin Scott Thomas shows up in a small role), and it is subtitled, but director Guillaume Canet ratchets up the tension throughout the film, provides a whirlwind foot-chase through the streets of France, and has plenty of surprises up his sleeve. Now, not having read the Coben novel, I can't say how closely the movie hews to the source material, but Coben was heavily involved in the film's production, so I'd guess the film's surprises aren't shockingly different.

I hesitate to say much more about the plot, so let me quickly say that lead Francoise Cluzet (a dead ringer for Dustin Hoffman) is great as the beleaguered doctor trying to discover the truth about his wife and can even run like the wind. The movie's anchored by his performance and by the stylish flourishes Canet throws in (also, his affinity for modern American music littering the soundtrack helps). Kudos all around; if I'd seen it in 2008, Tell No One would easily be in my top ten of the year. Go see it (on Netflix Instant, if you're so able).