Review of Tell No One (2006) by Peter G — 15 May 2010

It's often the case when a film has a particularly captivating hook, or twist, that you can't escape the feeling that everything else has just been built around it. Even bad writers get the odd good idea (I'm sure I don't need to mention M. Night Shyamalan. Wait, just did...) and if you can summarize what's clever and original about your story in a single line - you've more or less sold the film already.

The hook in the case of "Tell No One" is so succinct and intriguing that I would be amazed were it not the case here too. I'm quite certain the author started off with a single premise - a man is emailed a live video link which seems to show his wife, who was murdered 8 years ago, and instructs him, "Tell no one." - and worked his way up. However, perhaps because it started life as a novel and needed to inspire investment of more than just the couple of hours it takes to watch the film, the clever plotting doesn't end there. A number of story elements are introduced and interwoven with great tact & subtlety, and on the whole it was a joy to watch the strands play themselves out.

Conversely though, a few of the characters and situations are handled with such a clumsy and obstinate lack of explanation that it's no surprise many apparently found the film quite confusing at times. Though I never found it quite so bewildering as all that, I admit that come the end of the film I was still thinking, "Wait, but who was that guy? You forgot to explain about that guy..." and felt somewhat disappointed at what came across as lazy characterisation - though in retrospect, is more likely either the result of poor adaptation, or is sitting on the cutting room floor. Further though, there were some plot holes and inconsistencies which I don't think we can excuse in similar manner. He receives a mysterious email seemingly from his supposedly dead wife which urges him not to reveal to anyone at all what he's seen, and nigh-on immediately, he's tearing off to tell people. No conflict whatsoever. At another point, he's sat at the computer and there's a dialogue window which (rather conveniently) more or less tells him that he's being hacked, and another character asks him what it is. He casually replies, "Oh, that's just saying I'm being hacked. Wait - hold on a minute...".

Ultimately though, these are minor gripes. Such slips would utterly destroy suspension of disbelief in many a film, and it's testament to how solid the complete package is that it can ride the storm of such silliness. The script is, on the whole, clever and funny, the performances are wonderful, and the action sequences feel genuine, intense and enthralling. The only real fault I can find with the film is in it's final act.

Having built up to it so well, that crucial core of the story is unveiled in the dullest of expositions, offering very little in the way of satisfactory closure, and leaving the last 10 minutes so lacking in vigour that you're almost hurrying along the end credits. A damp squib of an ending, not befitting a film which succeeds on so many levels.

Despite this, it's definitely worth a watch.