Ne le dis à personne (2006) - film review

Over the past eight years, there has not been a single day when Alex has not thought about Margot, the childhood sweetheart that became his wife.  Eight years ago, she was taken from him, savagely murdered by a serial killer.  For eight years he has lived alone, bitterly lamenting the loss of a love that could not have been more perfect.  Then, one day, he receives an anonymous e-mail with a video clip.  Alex can hardly believe what he sees.  A woman standing in the middle of a crowd, speaking to him, as if to apologise.  The woman is Margot...

Ne le dis à personne is the second feature from actor-turned-director Guillaume Canet, an inspired, albeit slightly muddled, adaptation of Harlan Coben’s best-selling novel Tell No One.  In typically Gallic fashion, Canet refuses to let this be a formulaic action thriller of the kind that Hollywood now turns out every hour by the cartload but makes a bold attempt to fashion his own unique style of film, showing that, in French cinema at least, the auteur principle extends far beyond the confines of low budget talkathon dramas.

Whilst Canet’s inexperience as a filmmaker is painfully evident in some parts of the film (most noticeably in the sagging middle section), we cannot help noticing a maturity and artistic vision that was lacking in his debut film, Mon idole (2002).  Ne le dis à personne could have been a bland thriller, but Canet gives it a few well-judged expressionistic twists that both cranks up the tension and injects a searing humanity into the drama.  This is as much a love story as it is a mystery thriller.  Occasionally, the film does feel a little too arty for its own good, but the director’s intent, to provide a rich subjective experience which goes beyond the bog standard policier is to be applauded, not condemned.

The one indulgence that is hard to forgive is Canet’s decision to cast so many big-name actors.  François Cluzet, André Dussollier and François Berléand are superbly cast – each gives a flawless performance which perfectly matches the hard realist edge that Canet is striving for in his gritty mise-en-scène.  But was it really necessary to cast actors of the calibre of Kristin Scott Thomas, Nathalie Baye, Jean Rochefort, Jalil Lespert, etc., etc., in minor supporting roles?  Around the mid point, the film begins to lose credibility, not through its technical or artistic failings, but because it is far too crowded with celebrity actors.  The fact that the actors are not named in the opening credits doesn’t help matters.  After a while, you are so preoccupied in looking for the next French A-lister (will it be Depardieu, Belmondo, Delon...?), that you do start to lose the plot somewhat.

It may be riddled with minor flaws of the kind you would expect from a novice filmmaker, yet, for all its sins, Ne le dis à personne still manages to be a stylish and highly enjoyable piece of cinema.  The intensity of Cluzet’s performance, the pace of the narrative and the raw energy that Guillaume Canet brings through his direction make it one of the most exciting and innovative French thrillers in years.

© James Travers 2010

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