Ne le dis à personne (aka Tell No One)

Objective Rating (How much merit I think it deserves):
8.5/10
Subjective Rating (How much I personally like it):
8/10

Year made: 2006
Runtime: 125 minutes
IMDB page: here

Some pretty high ratings, coming from me. I really enjoyed this French little gem. Yes, it's in French so if you don't speak it (like me), you'll have to watch with subtitles (like me). It takes a tiny bit away from the film, yes, and sometimes the interpersonal relationships can be lost a little bit, but COMPLETELY worth it.

The film is based on one of Harlan Coben's thriller novels. One of my mentors has been recommending Coben to me for years but I just never had the time to pick it up. After watching this film, I'm completely sold. Will read some Coben casually... soon, after I get through Terry Pratchett (maybe it's time for a book review?!).

Alex is a pediatrician and loves his wife, Margot, very much. They spend a fun weekend at a lake (his family's property... so he's pretty well-to-do) where he gets clubbed in the head and goes into a short coma and she gets killed. Eight years later, he's still missing her, but his life is somewhat back on track. Until he gets an e-mail from Margot with a video link that shows her alive and older. WHAT?!

That's about all you are gonna get out of me about the plot. Really, you need to see the thing for yourself and any more you get from someone else will just reduce the fun as you dive into the story.

Some background information: Alex's family is into horseback riding. His younger sister is a rider and his dad is a trainer. His sister is also a completely normal lesbian, married to Kristin Scott Thomas's character (the American actress who spoke perfect French in the film... amazing). They are just such a... normal couple, their lesbianism is not emphasized or downplayed. Lesbianism is not focused on or evaded as an issue at all; it's just there, like any other married couple. Which is why I didn't work out their relationship for the longest time. I mean, Alex and Margot have this ensemble of friends and people from the stables and that's where things go a bit murky for me (maybe just because I'm that not into socializing). For a while I thought kristin Scott Thomas was Alex's sister, and her wife was actually her daughter. And I even thought it was weird because they casually kiss ... in the mouth when they say hi or goodbye. Man, I'm just really dense sometimes.

Superb acting, great cinematography, very well-handled, very refined. The plot moves along at the right pace, never boring or frantic. The relationships are so insightful and full of little details, which usually doesn't happen in thrillers. It has basically everything going for it, in terms of both visual art and storytelling.

Note of interest: very nice, moving, emotional soundtrack, mostly songs in English. It evokes a certain feeling when you hear it, a feeling that matches the movie so closely that you cringe involuntarily. It complements the movie so well.

The director and scriptwriter, Guillaume Canet, is a relatively young man (born in 1973) who plays a minor but important character in the movie, someone who links everything together. Apparently Canet is a very successful heartthrob actor with real talent (well, he can write and direct very nicely), quite famous in France and all over Europe. Now go watch the movie.