Tell No One - B+

On DVD, Blu-ray, and Netflix Instant Viewing

In this French thriller, a pediatrician (Francois Cluzet - France’s Dustin Hoffman) and his wife are assaulted at their private lake. Eight years later, he receives an email with a surveillance video showing her alive, prompting him to investigate the circumstances of her death. Meanwhile, someone frames him for another murder to prevent him from finding anything out. The mysteries pile up quickly in the first half, and little is initially resolved. There’s a terrific scene using U2’s “With or Without You” when Cluzet remembers a password. Another great sequence has Cluzet chased on foot throughout the streets of Paris by the police. For 30 minutes or so, the film turns into The Fugitive, complete with a Sam Gerard character . . .

Then the revelations happen during an extended conversation. It’s impossible to have figured out the mystery since there are zero hints or clues for most of the occurrences and many of the seemingly important events in the first 2/3 of the film are red herrings. So the adaptation of the novel could have probably been handled better by screenwriter Guillaume Canet, but Canet’s direction is solid and occasionally interesting. Some nice touches (a closed door, the sudden appearance of flowers) are interspersed with consistently exciting action scenes. There are many memorable faces and characters, each one suitably acted. Cluzet carries the film impressively, equally comfortable running around, treating children, and romancing his wife. B+

Warning: There’s full frontal male and female nudity, but it’s not gratuitous (the married couple skinny dips)