In the House

Offbeat French drama from director François Ozon that explores the relationship between a literature student and the talented pupil whose gift for description he attempts to nurture. Germain (Fabrice Luchini) usually despairs about the quality of the creative writing his pupils produce so when he receives a piece from the previously unremarkable student Claude (Ernst Umhauer) that displays promise he is moved to pledge assistance to the boy. Complicating matters somewhat is the fact that Claude writes about the household of a friend whose mother (Emmanuelle Seigner) he has a crush on and whose mundane lives amuse him. As Germain offers Claude advice on how to improve the dramatic tension within his submissions, the line between fiction and reality begins to blur. A strange power game develops in which Claude and Germain manipulate the family on and off the page, but how will they react when fact and fiction finally collide?