Cluzet’s brilliant performance as physician Alex Beck, whose wife was mysteriously murdered eight years earlier – 4 stars ****

By W. H. Bourne

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 7/3/08 – ‘Tell No One’ is a roller coaster ride in the dark with the audience always guessing but never sure what the next twist, turn or drop will be. ‘Tell No One’ director Guillaume Canet attributes it to actor François Cluzet’s award-winning performance. “François doesn’t act,” says Canet, “He lives things.”

“This movie was made for François Cluzet,” says Canet. “When I watch it now, I can’t imagine anybody else playing the part. I am eternally grateful to him for the energy he put into the film, and his patience, affability and availability at all times. He was throwing himself nude into a lake at 5 in the morning while the whole crew was huddled up in fleece jackets. Then, I had him running for ten straight days and he never complained. His eyes reveal a whole range of emotions: surprise, doubt, suspicion and fear. For me, that’s huge. François nails it every time.”

After the success of his début feature ‘My Idol’, Canet brings to the screen his adaptation of Harlan Coben’s bestseller ‘Tell No One’. “I told Harlan Coben right away why and how I wanted to adapt his book,” says ‘Tell No One’ director Guillaume Canet. “I think that’s what won him over.”

“Coben wasn’t at all happy with the U.S. adaptation [of the novel] because they changed so much,” says Canet. “I changed the ending, but he loved what we came up with. He was very moved and told me that each change we made added something that wasn’t in the novel! It was very important for me that Harlan should like the movie.”

Harlan Coben is the only author to have won all three major U.S. literary crime awards: the Edgar Award, Shamus Award and Anthony Award. ‘Tell No One’ was ELLE magazine’s Best Crime Novel of 2003. It’s been translated into 27 languages, with over six million copies sold worldwide.

Coben’s stand-alone crime novels ‘Gone for Good’, ‘No Second Chance’ and ‘Just One Look’, have established him as a master of the suspense thriller. His most recent novel, ‘Hold Tight’, is #1 on the New York Times Best Sellers list.

‘Tell No One’ won César awards for composer Mathieu Chedid and editor Hervé de Luze. These elements really support the tension and suspense that makes this film so compelling. Director Canet says, “I have to say that, overall, I had only the very best on this film.”

The César and Lumiere award-winning French film ‘Tell No One’ keeps audiences on the edge of their seats.

‘Tell No One’
Running Time: 2 hr. 5 min.
Limited Release Date: July 1st, 2008 (USA)
Not Rated.
Distributor: Music Box Films (USA)
Language: French with English subtitles