TELL NO ONE is a mystery in the tradition of Hitchcock and Chabrol.  There is a disappearance and appearance (8 years later) of a femme fatale (Hitchcock’s VERTIGO) followed by events that are gripping and exciting.  A traditional chase (similar to Grant’s in Hitchcock’s NORTH BY NORTHWEST) is present with the protagonist, Alex on the run. 

The story of French hit, NE LE DIS A PERSONNE centres of Dr. Alex (Francois Cluzet).  After his wife, Margot (Marie-Josee Croze) is abducted and left for dead, Alex receives an email 8 years later from her informing him to TELL NO ONE.  The police re-open the case, thinking Alex is guilty and a manhunt (Hitchcock’s TORN CURTAIN, THE WRONG MAN) begins during which Alex has to prove his innocence.

Director and actor Canet knows his genre and works the film well with sophistication and style.

The opening nude scene of the husband and wife frolicking at the jetty is done with sufficient finesse to excite as well as titillate the senses with the silhouettes and shadows.  Director Canet also plays cool to the gay culture – in this case, a lesbian couple with realistic problems the audience can relate to. 
Camerawork and placement is impressive.  The driving of the car, at the film’s start, is shown gliding on the road is shot with an overhead shot through the colours of the autumn leaves.  Canet pays great attention to detail (though at times a bit much for example, the cremation of the body in the coffin) – a reason the film is gripping.  The foot chase is the most exciting sequence especially Alex’s crossing of the highway with a host of coppers in pursuit.

Performances are aided by veterans like Nathalie Baye (as the loyal hard-hitting lawyer), Jean Rochefort and especially Francios Berleand as the mother-loving detective who shows he knows a thing or two.

TELL NO ONE has one big flaw in its explanation of events.  Unless I am missing something, which is highly possible, please someone correct me.  When the wife was at the dock making love to her husband just before her disappearance, she obviously was not beaten up.  But she was kicked in the face and terribly bruised prior.  Why had her husband not noticed the bashed up wife?  Unless the beating took place after, which makes no sense with regards to the timeline of incidents.

TELL NO ONE feels like a Chabrol thriller which probably is a factor towards the film’s success in France and the U.S.  Everyone loves a good thriller as they say and the French are clever with films of this genre like the recent THE PAGE TURNER and the upcoming L’EMPREINTE DE LE’ANGE.