''Tell No One'' () is a 2006 French

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...

directed by

Guillaume Canet Guillaume Canet (; born 10 April 1973) is a French actor, film director and screenwriter, and Show jumping, show jumper. Canet began his career in theatre and television before moving to film. He starred in several films like ''Joyeux Noël'', ...

and based on the 2001 novel of the same name by

Harlan Coben Harlan Coben (born January 4, 1962) is an American writer of mystery novels and thrillers. The plots of his novels often involve the resurfacing of unresolved or misinterpreted events in the past, murders, or fatal accidents and have multiple ...

. Written by Canet and Philippe Lefebvre and starring

François Cluzet François Cluzet (; born 21 September 1955) is a French film and theatre actor. Cluzet has collaborated with many important European and American directors, including Claude Chabrol, Bertrand Tavernier, Claire Denis, Agnieszka Holland, Robert ...

, the film won four categories at the 2007

César Awards The César Award is the national film award of France. It is delivered in the ' ceremony and was first awarded in 1976. The nominations are selected by the members of twelve categories of filmmaking professionals and supported by the French Min ...

in France: Best Director (Guillaume Canet), Best Actor (François Cluzet), Best Editing and Best Music Written for a Film.

Plot

Eight years following the murder of his wife, Margot, pediatrician Alexandre Beck receives an email showing security footage of what appears to be his wife, alive and well. As this is happening, two bodies are found buried near lake where Margot was murdered and evidence compiled by the police seem to pin their murder on Alex. Matters are complicated when a group thugs, also tracking Margot's emails, begin to terrorize Alex's friends, leading to the death of one of them, Charlotte. Having been last seen with Alex before her death, the police move in to arrest him at the hospital, but Alex escapes with the help from Bruno, a gangster who felt he owed Alex after the latter treated his ill son. Heading to park, per the email, Alex planned meeting with Margot is thwarted when he is kidnapped by the thugs before Bruno rescues him again. The following day, Alex is exonerated after his sister, Anne, and her wife, Helene, provide an alibi to their attorney. Meeting with the police and reviewing the compiled evidence, Alex, recalling how Margot's father had been acting strangely following Margot's death, confronts him at his home, where he reveals the truth. Two months before the event at the lake, Margot had discovered that Philippe Neuville, son of aristocrat Gilbert Neuville, had been molesting children from the children's trust. While attempting to extract a confession, Margot was beaten severely by Philippe before her father killed him with a shotgun. Fearing retaliation from Gilbert, who had half of the police force on his payroll, Margot's father began tapping his phones where he learned that Gilbert had hired two men to kill Margot. To outwit him, Margot's father killed both men hired by Gilbert, staged Margot’s death by using the body of a dead heroin addict, and sent her into hiding. Having been wearing a wire, Alex is able to transmit the entire conversation to police. With this confession, the police attempt to arrest Margot's father, who instead commits suicide. Unbeknownst to police, Margot's father knew that Alex was wearing a wire, and in a moment of blocking the transmission, he revealed to Alex that Margot actually shot Philippe, not him. His actions having ensured that she would never be suspected. Gilbert is arrested for his crimes while Alex and Margot finally reunite at the lake where they had fallen in love as children.

Cast

: Alexandre Beck *

Marie-Josée Croze Marie-Josée Croze (; born February 23, 1970) is a Canadian actress. She also holds French nationality, which she obtained in December 2012. Early life Croze was born in Montreal, Quebec, was adopted, and grew up in Longueuil with four other c ...

: Margot Beck *

André Dussollier André Dussollier (born 17 February 1946) is a French actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the ...

: Jacques Laurentin *

Kristin Scott Thomas Dame Kristin Ann Scott Thomas (born 24 May 1960) is a British actress. A five-time BAFTA Award and Olivier Award nominee, she won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' (1994) and the Olivi ...

: Hélène Perkins *

François Berléand François Berléand (; born 22 April 1952) is a French actor. He plays Gilles Triquet, the officer manager and equivalent of David Brent in ''Le Bureau'', the French version of ''The Office'', produced by Canal+. He also appeared in the 2002 f ...

: Eric Levkowitch *

Nathalie Baye Nathalie Marie Andrée Baye (; born 6 July 1948) is a French film, television, and stage actress. She began her career in 1970 and has appeared in more than 80 films. A ten-time César Award nominee, her four wins were for ''Every Man for Himsel ...

: Maître Elisabeth Feldman *

Jean Rochefort Jean Raoul Robert Rochefort (; 29 April 1930 – 9 October 2017) was a French actor. He received many accolades during his career, including an Honorary César in 1999. Life and career Rochefort was born on 29 April 1930 in Paris, France, to ...

: Gilbert Neuville * Marina Hands: Anne Beck *

Gilles Lellouche Gilles Lellouche (; born 5 July 1972) is a French actor and director. He was nominated twice for a César Award; in 2006 for Most Promising Actor and in 2011 for Best Supporting actor for his performance in '' Little White Lies'' (2010). Earl ...

: Bruno * Philippe Lefebvre: Lieutenant Philippe Meynard *

Florence Thomassin Florence Thomassin (born 24 June 1966) is a French actress and sculptor. In 2001, Thomassin was nominated for a César Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role of Beatrice in Bernard Rapp's '' A Question of Taste'' ("Une affaire de goû ...

: Charlotte Bertaud *

Olivier Marchal Olivier Marchal (born 14 November 1958) is a French actor, director, screenwriter, and a former policeman. In 2005, he was nominated for three César Awards (César Award for Best Director, Best Director, César Award for Best Film, Best Film a ...

: Bernard Valenti *

: Philippe Neuville *

Brigitte Catillon Brigitte Catillon (born 20 July 1951) is a French actress and screenwriter. She was nominated for the César Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1993 for '' A Heart in Winter'' directed by Claude Sautet. She was also nominated for the Molièr ...

: Captain Barthas *

Samir Guesmi Samir Guesmi is a French actor. Filmography Actor Filmmaker Theatre References External links * 1967 births Living people French male film actors French male television actors Male actors from Paris French people of Algeria ...

: Lieutenant Saraoui *

Jean-Pierre Lorit Jean-Pierre Lorit (born 29 November 1960) is a French actor. His most recognizable role is in the film '' Three Colors: Red''. In 2005, he performed August Strindberg's ''Créanciers'' directed by Hélène Vincent, with Lambert Wilson and Emma ...

: Lavelle *

Jalil Lespert Jalil Lespert (born 11 May 1976) is a French actor, screenwriter and director. He has been described as "one of the best actors of his generation." Early life and education Lespert was born in Paris to a Pied-Noir, ''pied-noir'' father, actor J ...

: Yaël Gonzales *

Éric Savin Éric Savin (born Dijon, 14 November 1964) is a French film and TV actor. Biography Savin comes from a rugby family, which meant he was more interested in a sports career. But a strong conviction led him to Paris to try a career as an actor. He ...

: The prosecutor * : Pierre Ferrault *

Philippe Canet Philippe is a masculine given name, cognate to Philip, and sometimes also a surname. The name may refer to: * Philippe of Belgium (born 1960), King of the Belgians (2013–present) * Philippe (footballer) (born 2000), Brazilian footballer * Prince ...

: François Beck * : Madame Beck *

Laurent Lafitte Laurent Lafitte (born 22 August 1973) is a French actor. He is known for playing the role of Patrick in ''Elle''. In March 2016 he was named as the host of the opening and closing ceremonies at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival The 69th Cannes F ...

: The Basque *

Martine Chevallier Martine Chevallier (born 1949 in Gap, Hautes-Alpes, France) is a French actress. Career Martine Chevallier joined the Conservatoire national supérieur d’art dramatique in the class of Antoine Vitez and won the first prize in 1974. In 1986, ...

: Martine Laurentin *

Thierry Neuvic Thierry Neuvic (born 3 August 1970) is a French actor. He has appeared in more than 50 films and television shows since 1996. He starred in the film '' Code Unknown'', which was selected in the 2000 Cannes Film Festival. Personal life He was t ...

: Marc Bertaud * Mika'ela Fisher: Zak *

Françoise Bertin Françoise Bertin (23 September 1925 – 26 October 2014) was a French actress. She appeared in over 125 films since 1961. Among these were five films directed by Alain Resnais: '' Last Year at Marienbad'', '' Muriel'', '' The War Is Over'', ...

: Antoinette Levkowitch *

Andrée Damant Andrée Damant (20 September 1929 – 6 December 2022) was a French actress. Early life Andrée Damant was born on 20 September 1929 in Avignon. Career Damant starred in many commercials. She also specialized in the roles of sympathetic Méri ...

: Simone *

Pierre-Benoist Varoclier Pierre-Benoist Varoclier (born 30 April 1983 in Fontainebleau, France) is a French actor, theatre director, writer and producer. Former chess champion and financial consultant, he made his film debut as a child in Volker Schlöndorff's '' The O ...

: Nurse *

Anne Marivin Anne Marivin (born 23 January 1974) is a French actress. She has appeared in more than fifty film and television productions since 1994. Marivin was noticed in television appearances such as ''Tel père, tel flic'' (2001) and ''Père et Maire'' ...

: Alex's secretary * Sara Martins: Bruno's friend

Production

The script made several alterations to the book; a torture expert changed from an Asian male to a white female, and the identity of the killer was switched. The book's author was quoted in an interview as saying that the film's ending was better than his original ending.

Reception

''Tell No One'' was well received both critically and commercially.

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

-winning British actor

Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, 14 March 1933) is a retired English actor. Known for his distinct Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films over Michael Caine filmography, a career that spanned eight decades an ...

said of the film it was the best he had seen in 2007 on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's '' Film 2007'' programme. He also included it among his Top Ten movies of all time in his 2010 autobiography, ''The Elephant to Hollywood''.

Critical response

Box office

The film generated $17million in ticket sales during its first four weeks at the French box office. In total, the film grossed $22,194,261 in France becoming the 12th highest-grossing film of the year with 3,111,809 tickets sold.

Music Box Films Music Box Films is a distributor of foreign and independent film in theatrical, DVD/Blu-ray, and video-on-demand markets in the United States. Based in Chicago, Music Box Films is independently owned and operated by the Southport Music Box Corpo ...

acquired the rights to the film and gave it a

limited theatrical release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few cinemas across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...

on July 2, 2008. The film opened in eight theaters grossing $169,707 during its opening weekend. In total, the film grossed $6,177,192 in the US and Canada.

Top ten lists

The film appeared on many critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2008. * 1st: Marc Doyle, Metacritic.com * 2nd: Marjorie Baumgarten, ''

The Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogra ...

'' * 7th: Kimberly Jones, ''

'' * 7th: Marc Mohan, ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the West Coast of the United States, U.S. West Coast, founded as a weekly by Tho ...

'' * 7th:

Shawn Levy Shawn Adam Levy (; born July 23, 1968) is a Canadian and American filmmaker and actor. He is the founder of 21 Laps Entertainment. His work has spanned numerous genres, and his films as a director have grossed a collective $3.5 billion worldwid ...

, ''

'' * 8th:

Stephen Holden Stephen Holden (born July 18, 1941) is an American writer, poet, and music and film critic. Biography Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963. He worked as a photo editor, staff writer, and eventually be ...

, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' * 9th:

Kenneth Turan Kenneth Turan (; born October 27, 1946) is an American retired film critic, author, and lecturer in the Master of Professional Writing Program at the University of Southern California. He was a film critic for the ''Los Angeles Times'' from 1991 ...

, ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' * 10th: Ann Hornaday, ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' * 10th:

Owen Gleiberman Owen Gleiberman (born February 24, 1959) is an American film critic who has been chief film critic for '' Variety'' magazine since May 2016, a title he shares with . Previously, Gleiberman wrote for ''Entertainment Weekly'' from 1990 until 2014. ...

, ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

''The

Jeff Buckley Jeffrey Scott Buckley (raised as Scott Moorhead; November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997) was an American musician. After a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, he attracted a cult following in the early 1990s performing at venues in ...

version of the song Lilac Wine, from his album

Grace Grace may refer to: Places United States * Grace, Idaho, a city * Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois * Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office * Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uni ...

(1994), was used as background music in the film.

References

External links

* * * {{Navboxes , title = Awards for ''Tell No One'' , list = {{Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Foreign Language Film {{Lumières Award for Best Film 2006 films 2006 LGBTQ-related films 2006 psychological thriller films 2000s French films 2000s French-language films French LGBTQ-related films French psychological thriller films French serial killer films Lesbian-related films Films based on works by Harlan Coben Films based on thriller novels Films directed by Guillaume Canet Films produced by Luc Besson Films featuring a Best Actor César Award–winning performance Films whose director won the Best Director César Award Best Film Lumières Award winners