Tell No One (pub. 2001; rel. 2006)

My assumption in creating this blog was that people who watched a popular film might be curious as to how closely it followed its literary source and, more importantly, whether the book might be worth reading. For Tell No One, the book by popular mystery/thriller author Harlan Coben may have had more exposure than the French film adaptation, Ne le dis à personne.


Let me first acknowledge that I read the book first and saw the movie second. And when I sat down to watch the film, I wondered how they would pack 400 pages of rather dense plotting into two hours. At the same time, I wondered if this film would suffer from what I find to be the overly stylized, atmospheric character of le cinema de la France. As it turned out, the combination of American thriller plotting and evocative French filmmaking was very successful.

The book, mostly told in first person by Dr. David Beck (but with 3rd person cheats to check in on villains and police investigators), is about Beck's grief over losing his wife Elizabeth during an assault eight years ago; the narration focuses on his love and inability to find closure. Her case has long been closed but then Beck receives an e-mail message that suggests that she is still alive.

The film, mostly close first person on Dr. Alexandre Beck (with fewer 3rd person scenes), follows the basic plot of the book but streamlines many plot elements. Actor Francois Cluzet's expressive face and a few evocative flashback scenes deftly convey the pining for Margot, the lost wife. Similarly, dialogue heavy confrontations between Beck's lawyer and the D.A. are simplified but the essence remains.

The biggest plot change comes at the end. Like all great thrillers, the idea of a well-connected man of wealth is revealed to be the shadowy engine of evil in Tell No One, but the film trusts French justice and lets the conclusion play out neatly (albeit with a bit too much plain exposition). In contrast, the novel suggests American justice has its limits and resorts to vigilantism. I think I prefer the film here; it makes the ultimate bad guy less globally powerful but he's still the worst person that Beck is ever going to meet in his life.

(There's one more twist to the book that the movie eliminates. When I told my wife [who watched the movie but didn't read the book] about that twist, she thought it was neat and was sorry it was cut. Thinking about it, however, I realized that it would have required a longer resolution.)

Let's also applaud small changes. Kristin Scott-Thomas, as Cluzet's best friend (and lesbian sister-in-law) is a successful restaurateur rather than a plus-size model, and is as brilliant and charismatic as ever. The shifting of the setting from New York City to Paris could have been just one urban backdrop exchanged for another, but I personally found the images of poor, immigrant-populated neighborhoods of Paris more colorful and interesting than the poor neighborhoods of NYC (where I've lived).

Bottom line: if you liked the movie, you will find clearer explanations of relationships and motivations in the book but you might still find it a hundred pages too long. If you liked the book, I would highly recommend the movie.