Paediatrician Alex Beck (Francois Cluzet) and his wife Margot (Marie-Josee Croze) were childhood sweethearts, and in the opening of the film they revisit the idyllic lake of their youth. The tranquility is quickly shattered when Margot disappears. She is later found dead and Alex is beaten unconscious. It is not until eight years later when a couple of bodies are unearthed near the lake that Alex’s longstanding grief is interrupted. He receives a mysterious message that his wife might still be alive and, as Alex becomes an amateur sleuth in search of his wife, he becomes the police’s main suspect for her murder.
This is more than a well-paced thriller that uses all the modern technologies such as email, webcam, surveillance cameras and computers with logon difficulties. It has a wealth of fascinating minor characters such as a sadistic hit-woman; a cop with obsessive-compulsive tendencies; the wealthy lesbian Helene (Kirsten Scott Thomas), who lives with Alex’s sister Anne (Marina Hands) and hires a top lawyer, Elisabeth Feldman (Nathalie Baye) for Alex. Director Canet casts himself as one of the more distasteful characters. Tell No One screens at Somerville Auditorium (UWA) 21-27 Jan and Joondalup Pines (ECU) 28 Jan-3 Feb. Gates open at 6.30pm for those who pack a picnic basket or want to buy food there, and the film starts at 8.30pm. Buy tickets in advance at a discount price from BOCS or online at www.perthfestival.com.au.
Tell No One (MA) is directed by Guillaume Canet.
