Tell No One is a movie that kind of reinvents itself multiple times throughout the runtime. Each act feels a little different and the main character has a diverse set of goals he's trying to accomplish throughout the film. The biggest thing I can say, without spoiling anything, is that he is always looking for answers. As a man who loses his one true love in the opening scene, he cannot rest until he knows the truth, and I like a movie that gives the protagonist such strong motivations. I also thought they did a good job at making François Cluzet's character extremely likable and sympathetic. It's kind of necessary that we sympathize with him, since there are so many parts of this movie that are punctuated by staring at his confused face. I suppose if I was trying to piece together things as complex as this I would also look a little stymied all the time.
The film is fast-paced, and has some exciting moments. I was surprised by some of the intense violence in the film, and could not figure out why these people that feel like super-villains were chasing after the protagonist. But the real thrust of the movie isn't the action, but it is the mystery of one man trying to make sense of his past, and how his wife died. I liked seeing the pieces come together, and I thought there were some good surprises along the way. However, Tell No One falls prey to a frustrating flaw common among films of this type. It saves too many details until the end and then we are forced to sit through a marathon exposition dump. They try to make it better by including visual flashbacks to show things, but it still doesn't change the fact that we get a climax which is just a monologue that takes about 20 minutes straight. That being said, there was enough entertainment value in Tell No One that I was willing to accept a little tedium at the end.
The film is fast-paced, and has some exciting moments. I was surprised by some of the intense violence in the film, and could not figure out why these people that feel like super-villains were chasing after the protagonist. But the real thrust of the movie isn't the action, but it is the mystery of one man trying to make sense of his past, and how his wife died. I liked seeing the pieces come together, and I thought there were some good surprises along the way. However, Tell No One falls prey to a frustrating flaw common among films of this type. It saves too many details until the end and then we are forced to sit through a marathon exposition dump. They try to make it better by including visual flashbacks to show things, but it still doesn't change the fact that we get a climax which is just a monologue that takes about 20 minutes straight. That being said, there was enough entertainment value in Tell No One that I was willing to accept a little tedium at the end.