[French with English Subtitles]
by Eric Green
"Tell No One" is a French mystery thriller that does not disappoint, IN ANY WAY.
The centerpiece of film is a French aristocrat billionaire, horse breeder, Gilbert Neuville, played by the great film actor, Jean Rochefort, whose power at affecting events via political and economic control of government and policy leaders runs up against his arrogance and abuse of the same power. Clearly, Guillaume Canet, screenwriter and film director, had the billionaire's power in mind by formulating a mystery thriller that is complex and deceptive a new higher level than almost all other similar films. You have to pay close attention and its worth it. Neuville's estate is in Versailles.
Alex Beck, played expertly by Francois Cluzet, is the husband whose wife dies during a summer romp in a lake outside Paris. The film jumps ahead 8 years, but when new events force a re-look at that death, the flash back and forwards tell a story that keeps you on the edge of your seats.
Great acting performances are delivered by Kristin Scott Thomas, an English actor, who plays a close friend of Beck and Nathalie Baye who plays Beck's attorney, Elysabeth Feldman.
The film title, "Tell No One" refers to the secrets and lies which pervade practically all of the main characters of the film.
An added feature of the film is the chase and car scenes around Paris, which give the viewers an insight into the full range of Parisians that are in Paris. Given the decidedly upper middle class nature of the film, these on-the-ground views of the Paris working classes are expertly done by Canet. Immigrant populations are expertly interwoven into the plots of the film.
