"tell no one" movie review

in between the westport summer series on saturday and the catskill mountain relay on sunday, pat and i went to see "tell no one (ne le dis a personne)" on saturday. we had originally planned to see this film last weekend, but a misprinted timetable resulted in us catching "the visitor" instead. while "the visitor" was a good film, this one is much more my speed - a suspense thriller. think along the lines of two great harrison ford movies combined: "the fugitive" (on the run from the law) and "frantic" (a frantic search of paris for his wife). the very short version - great film, don't miss it!

that said, however, film is so densely packed with plot, sub-plot, twists, turns, that trying to following the action unfold, cerebrally, is pointless. instead, give yourself permission to enjoy the story line play out viscerally is the how to go with one. for someone who enjoys putting together the puzzle pieces and triumphantly beating the filmmaker to the denouement, it may be sacrilegious behavior - to merely suggest this line of viewing - much less participate in this sort of movie-going experience (willingly, that is).

but there isn't much choice in the matter. there's not one, but two, explanations for what's just transpired. we expect the one at the film's conclusion, however, there brief first one is an interesting twist itself. i've gotten well ahead of myself! there is an easy enough framework to view the action. husband's wife is brutally murdered 8 years earlier. he receives an email with a link to a webcam video of his wife - alive and well? the email carried the tag line "tell no one - they're watching." as expected, he immediately sets off on to find her. at the same time, new evidence finds its way to the police - who reopen the investigation into her murder (with husband as prime suspect).

a couple of additional details - someone was already tried and convicted of her murder. eight years earlier the body was positively identified (by her own father), an autopsy performed, and there was a funeral service followed by cremation - which was attended by husband (we know this via his flashbacks to the event). with that - why did she suddenly "reappear" after eight years? what does the new evidence received by the police mean? who is trying to frame the husband for the murder (and they've done a good job of it) - and why?

the high point of this film is the husband's escape when the police make the obligatory visit to his office to arrest him! "tell no one" is worth seeing just for this action sequence, if nothing else. to watch a chain smoking, and from all appearance sedentary, middle-aged man non-chalantly exit his examining room (complete with patient) via the window - and then proceed to RUN thru the streets of paris - with a much younger, healthier, and determined officer chasing him - is absolutely breathtaking. this escape sequence, and the ensuing aftermath, easily compares to - sans car - any of jason bourne's car chases in his masterful trilogy. it's all so pedestrian, and it works beautifully!

i'll end this here because i don't want to jeopardize the finale: is what we've just witnessed all some elaborate ruse - or whether she is still very much alive. go find out yourself ;)