Guillaume Canet’s French adaptation of Harlan Coben’s gripping novel, “Tell No One” (”Ne le dis à personne”), is as much a thriller as it is a gut wrenching love story outlined by tragedy that never once overpowers the more human moments with overblown action sequences or overly convoluted plot points. That’s not to say it isn’t an elaborate mindbender, a mysterious labyrinth of emotional gravity and genuinely puzzling plot points, because it is. Simply put, it’s a refreshing take on an overused plot line, that being the husband accused of murdering his wife and he sets out to prove otherwise by unraveling the mystery etc, and confirms my belief that everything sounds more fascinating in French.

Alexandre Beck (François Cluzet) and Margot (Marie-Josée Croze), a happily in love married couple grounded in reality and the benefit of a stable past, are spending time at a family estate. Specifically, the lake where their love blossomed when they were children, carving their names and a heart into a tree, marking off each year of their love underneath it. Everything changes after the two have a minor disagreement on the moonlit platform on the lake where the couple had been laying blissfully minutes beforehand. Margot dives into the lake, climbs out on the other side in a huff. She screams. Alex makes his way to the shore, only to be knocked unconscious as he exits the water.

Suddenly, its eight years later and Alex seems to have moved on. For awhile, he was the prime suspect, but when Margot’s body was found it became clear that she was the victim of a grizzly murder by a serial killer with an alarming fetish. With a laughable amount of irony, as soon as we become aware that Alex is trying his best to live a stable life by coping with his inconsolable amount of grief, two more bodies are unearthed on the family estate where Margot met her untimely death. Victims of the same serial killer? No, the state of the crime scene didn’t match that serial killer’s modus operandi, and certain objects were uncovered that link the murder to Alex. The mystery grows deeper when Alex begins receiving puzzling emails that suggest that Margot might just be alive after all. Alex is instructed to tell no one.

The story may be lavish in intense intrigue and the plot points are not exactly mesmeric all the time, especially when the underlying conspiracy begins coming to light and soon after all is revealed, but it is rooted in deep emotional complexity which sets it a notch above those grittier, smarter, more slick and less memorable American thrillers. Canet’s transportation of the novel’s New York setting to Paris is an interesting one, and the contrast between the novel and the adaptation can be seen in the striking difference of tone. The sacrifice of uprooting the entire story is a minor one, and for the most part Canet manages to add surprisingly absorbing levels of distinctive instability of rhythm. This transcendental atmosphere joined with the deft emotional studies fill up the films few plot holes concerning Canet’s overreliance of intricate coincidences, something which is not done all that often.

The level of acting present in the film is also unusual for a crime-thriller. Cluzet, who bares a striking resemblance to Dustin Hoffman, deftly displays his characters fluctuation between crippling grief, almost uncontrollable paranoia and the inventible hope he feels in knowing that there may just be a chance that the love of his life may still be alive and well. As the protagonist, he has to ensure that we become as fixated with his dilemma as he is, and with his warmth of character he does just that. Croze, who gave a notable performance in “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” makes a remarkable impression even though she is not physically in the film for very long. She has that effect, lingering in memory despite being out of sight for so long. Making the biggest impression of the lot is Kristin Scott Thomas as Alex’s quiet, introverted sister’s wife. Speaking fluent, perfect French, or so is apparent to the untrained ear, she is completely immersed in her role to the point that when she opens her mouth for the first time, you do a double take just to make sure your eyes are not deceiving you. Her range is phenomenal, and her small but powerful role here only solidifies her as a Goddess of the acting world.

Revelation wise, “Tell No One” is not that impressive. By the time we get to the final disclosure, it all feels a little too overlong and a little too underwhelming. The reason for this is, simply, that the emotional rollercoaster is most entertaining when the adrenalin rush first hits. When we figure out just how ordinary the entire affair really is, it’s not that much of a disappointment because the journey getting to that point is such a refreshing, classy, orderly one that never fails to captivate, and sets a new standard for the modern crime thriller. It’s about time something did.

Fatac Rating: ***½

Tell No One (Ne le dis à personne). Written and Directed by Guillaume Canet based on a novel by Harlan Coben. Cinematography by Christophe Offenstein. Edited by Hervé de Luze. Music by Mathieu Chedid. Starring François Cluzet, Marie-Josée Croze, Kristin Scott Thomas, André Dussollier and Marina Hands. Running Time: 126 minutes. Age Restriction: Not Rated. Year: 2008. Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars. [B]