Tell No One Analysis

Tell No One

Directed by: Guillame Canet

It's a murder mystery. The puzzle that the film puts forward, the murder, the crime scene that we see, the suspects and what actually happened and the revelation of the mystery is brilliant in this film. As a whole, when you come to know of the one-liner, the twist works very well. But this film is treated like a drama more than a thriller, sure there are scenes which carry tension but we also see a big chase sequences with huge set pieces, that scene is more like an action thriller than a suspense thriller. With these films, I'd like to be thrilled by the writing and the film making can make it chilling but there are events in this film which hardly drive the plot forward. It happens to me with even other films that I like, there are some scenes which are memorable and sometimes I even forget a lot of plot details in the film later. The most memorable parts of this film for me, would be the opening premise and the end revelation, the second act all feels forgettable and they just feel like a tool for us to experience the end revelation better.

I like the idea that films like The Guilty, Bong Joon-ho's Mother, The Body, The Invisible Guest and this film can do brilliant plot twists with minimal number of characters. When it's a whodunnit drama and we see 10 members, then you can't feel the impact of plot twists there because the film in itself is a puzzle and plot twists are expected there whereas these films are treated like thrillers with minimal number of characters and in the few characters we know, if we get to see a twist, it really blows our minds.