Review of Tell No One (2006) by Steve S — 20 Mar 2014

Generally speaking, foreign thrillers are superior to their American counterparts, which is why so many of them are remade by the major Hollywood studios. It saves a lot of domestic born screenwriters from having to come up with original ideas of their own. For that reason alone, hopes were high for "Tell No One", a French import with a lot of positive buzz from a lot of respected people.

The scenario set up early on is a tantalizing one, and this had all of the markings of a terrific thriller. My hopes were soon dashed, however, when it became painfully apparent that this was completely lacking in the thrill department. There's enough plot here for three movies, which is not normally a problem especially when you stop to consider how shallow a lot of American movies are, but I found it rather difficult to keep up with. It definitely a movie that could benefit from a second and even third viewing, but considering how cold I was to my initial introduction, it could be a while before I would want to revisit this.

There is a curious lack of suspense, and it's quite wordy especially during the finale. The film doesn't even wrap things up with the expected frantic wallop. Instead, the seemingly endless plot threads are tied up by one lengthy explanation from one of the characters, keeping in the tradition with the rest of this insipid thriller.

"Tell No One" could have went down a lot of different paths after the marvelous opening moments. It seems that the filmmakers chose all of them, and the viewer is left in the dust.