Tell Tale

Decent Popcorn Flick - But Unrelated to Poe
Let me first make something clear: "Tell Tale" actually has nothing to do with "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe. In Poe's short story, a murderer is haunted by the sounds of his victim's beating heart. In the film, the recipient of a heart transplant shares a supernatural connection with his deceased donor, and seeks to unravel the mystery of his murder. The film only emphasizes the heartbeat when single father Terry sees someone that the victim did.

The film is directed by Michael Cuesta, who previously directed episodes of Dexter and Six Feet Under. It's produced by Tony and Ridley Scott, and even though they aren't listed as directors, I found it interesting that the film borrows direction techniques from Man on Fire (A Tony Scott film).

I've enjoyed work by Josh Lucas in the past (Glory Road, Sweet Home Alabama), but he simply doesn't stand out in this role. On the other hand, Brian Cox (Bourne Identity, Braveheart) absolutely steals the show as...

Nice surprise.
Tell Tale (Michael Cuesta, 2009)

This is another of those pleasant-surprise films that simply disappeared into the ether. It showed at Tribeca, failed to find an American distributor, and went straight to DVD a year later. On the other hand, successful festival runs in other parts of the world led to theatrical releases in France, Singapore, Greece, Mexico, Brazil, Russia, South Africa, Australia... and the list goes on. Why is it that other countries are so able to recognize the worth of smaller American films, while those of us who like to see things on the big screen are so often spoon-fed the lowest common denominator? (I already think I know the answer to that question, but I'm hoping if I keep asking it, the studios who refuse to take chances on intelligent, low-budget movies like this will get the hint.)

This is, in fact, an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart", but it's not one you're likely to recognize. Scriptwriter Dave Callaham (The...

Confusing plot, actors mumble
There was something satisfying about the way the main character kept offing those who had killed his heart donor. But most of the time it was difficult to figure the story, and we were painfully aware that all the actors (but most particularly the female doctor who was the love interest), kept swallowing their words so that none of us could hear what was said. Regarding the confusing plot, one of the people with whom I was watching is a cardiologist - well, all of us are certified to be quite intelligent and experienced watchers of art flicks.... I think by the end we understood where the story was headed but were definitely underwhelmed.

BTW, this Blu-ray DVD apparently lacks subtitles. We looked for those, as they might have helped us understand the mumbled lines.

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