Show Me
- Review By:
- PoseyDozer
- Date:
- April 3, 2009
- Movie:
- Tell No One
- Director:
- Guillaume Canet
- Released:
- 2006
- Good Guy:
- Alexandre Beck
- Played By:
- Francois Cluzet
- Bad Guy:
- Jacques Laurentin
- Played By:
- Andre Dussollier
- MPAA Rating:
- R
- Family Friendly Ages:
- Older teens
Nothing beats a well-crafted thriller of the kind that Tell No One aspires to be. The wife of the film's protagonist, Alex Beck, is murdered as the film opens. Eight years later, Beck is implicated in her death when two more bodies are discovered near the murder scene. Spurred by anonymous emails and videos showing his wife alive, Beck attempts to discover whether she really is dead. He asks her father, who identified the body, whether her face was bruised beyond easy recognition. He requests the autopsy report. In the meantime, while the police try to pin the murders of the two newly discovered bodies on him, he is also being framed for the murder of his wife's best friend. He's confused; the police are confused. Best of all, we are confused and enjoying every minute of it. At least for the first half or so of the movie.
Tell No One slips toward the end, however. The murderer is revealed. And in a long, dull scene, which the director vainly attempts to enliven with flashbacks, the doer tells Beck what happened. Clues that could have been woven into the story earlier on are dumped in our laps. Characters' motivations are explained. And in that scene, the movie is ruined. Tell No One breaks the cardinal rule of all great thrillers: show, don't tell.
In French with subtitles.
I agree! Very disappointing ending. All the challenge for the viewer was sucked away in the narration. Loved how it started out though....