Ne le dis à personne (2006)

Director:

Guillaume Canet

Writers:

Guillaume Canet (writer)
Harlan Coben (novel)

Release Date:

1 November 2006 (Belgium)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

8 years ago, Alex's wife was MURDERED. Today... She e-mailed him.

Plot:

The pediatrician Alexandre Beck misses his beloved wife Margot Beck, who was brutally murdered eight years ago when he was the prime suspect...

Plot Keywords:

Murder | E Mail | Police | Death | Police Officer

Awards:

9 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

François Cluzet	...	Alexandre Beck
Marie-Josée Croze	...	Margot Beck
André Dussollier	...	Jacques Laurentin
Kristin Scott Thomas	...	Hélène Perkins
François Berléand	...	Eric Levkowitch
Nathalie Baye	...	Maître Elysabeth Feldman
Jean Rochefort	...	Gilbert Neuville
Marina Hands	...	Anne Beck
Gilles Lellouche	...	Bruno
Philippe Lefebvre	...	Lieutenant Philippe Meynard
Florence Thomassin	...	Charlotte Bertaud
Olivier Marchal	...	Bernard Valenti
Guillaume Canet	...	Philippe Neuville
Brigitte Catillon	...	Capitaine Barthas
Samir Guesmi	...	Lieutenant Saraoui

Also Known As:

Tell No One (International: English title)

Runtime:

131 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | France:U | Ireland:15A | UK:15 | Portugal:M/16 | Sweden:15 | Australia:MA | Finland:K-15 | USA:Unrated | New Zealand:R16 | Singapore:NC-16 | Germany:16 | Netherlands:12

Filming Locations:

Adainville, Yvelines, France

Company:

Les Productions du Trésor

Trivia:

Cameo: [Harlan Coben]The writer appears as the tall bold man who follows Alexandre Beck in the station.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Alexandre gets out of the water to go help Margot in the beginning, his attacker hits him twice with the bat. Towards the end, when they show this same attack from farther away his attacker hits him thrice.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: (2008-07-19)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

With Or Without You

Tell No One/Ne le dis à personne (2006) review ****

Guillaume Canet's thriller opens on one of those naturalistic dinner party scenes: all glasses clinking and laughter and dialogue just a pitch below hearing. Yet this is a misleading beginning for a film that progresses into a thoroughly surprising and superior tale of a husband's desperate search for his seemingly dead wife.

Canet executes the set-up for his tale beautifully, placing his couple stark naked, lakeside, and under the moonlight to emphasize the sheer indulgence of their love. Then with little dialogue he changes the tone from romanticism, to blinding horror as Alexandre (Francois Cluzet) hears a scream and tries in vain to save his wife Margot (Josee Croze) but is beaten over the head by her attacker.

The casting of this couple was crucial as for all its twists and turns what follows is essentially their love story; and neither Cluzet nor Croze disappoint-the latter possessing a perfect vulnerable quality (akin to Naomi Watts in 'King Kong'). However, it is to Cluzet that we owe such an absorbing tale of grief and that false friend: memory.

As we flash forward eight years he conveys sometimes only through his eyes the ever-present grief ready to resurface as soon as his wife's name is mentioned. And, this being a thriller her name is mentioned pretty quickly in the form of an email, plunging the audience into a taut whodunit/what really happened/who's hiding something tale, the answer being of course everyone. And what a terrific supporting cast we are treated with: Margot's father (Andre Dussollier) effortlessly conveys equal parts frustration and resolute duty; while one cut to Jean Rochefort's brooding and wrinkled face alerts the audience to all the pain of his past. Kristin Scott Thomas is possibly even more captivating in French and her poise and cheekbones seem to be a natural marriage with the language and Parisian backdrop. . Canet uses this midsummer Paris to his full advantage to turn up the heat on his fevered search, notably in a touching scene where Alex is racing through the sweltering streets with a giant dog.

"An innocent man" declares Alex's lawyer "does not run". (What-has she not seen 'The Fugitive'?) In any case thank goodness in this circumstance he does as these provide the most compelling scenes in which even Alex crossing a motorway becomes a thing of beauty.

What keeps us gripped though, is that we actually care about these characters and their fate-about what really happened that night (which is possibly why I put up with a slightly indulgent confession scene), and despite the fact that this thriller utterly surpassed most of the usual Hollywood offerings; I found myself craving what Tinsel Town does best: a happy ending.

**** 4/5