Reality and fiction blur in François Ozon's latest, a dark comedy that starts out brilliantly before slightly losing its way.
It's the start of a new school year and literature teacher Germain (Fabrice Luchini) is caught off guard when one of his pupils, Claude Garcia (Ernst Umhauer) writes an overtly voyeuristic piece about his weekend spent in the house of his friend and fellow pupil Rapha Artole Junior (Bastien Ughetto). What starts as ostensibly innocent becomes more perverse as Claude's home invasion, and his stories, continue. Initially alarmed, Germain nurtures the boy’s talent and encourages him to improve his writing and develop his stories, his desire for them as potent as Claude's desire for Rapha's mother.
The power of storytelling is at the heart of this film, and it’s something Ozon has explored before. It is laugh out loud funny and at the same time, sinister, as it explores the ability for stories to compel and entertain us. As Claude's writing continues, we question everything and we are never sure who is really in control, who is leading who. The dialogue is littered with touches that reinforce this. Claude will call Germain maestro, does he simply mean master, or is Germain really the composer of these stories? It's an idea that runs through the film.
Managing to balance the comedy with the continuously darkening obsessions is an impressive feat, and we are gripped throughout thanks to some fantastic performances. Fabrice Luchini and Ernst Umhauer play off each other beautifully, and Kristen Scott Thomas, as Germain's art dealer wife, is as engaging as ever.
But as well as In The House manages to juggle these contrasting elements, it often shows its hand much earlier than you want it to. In scenes where Germain is looking at his wife's gallery, perplexed at the work on display, she explains the nature and meaning of the art to him. Similarly, you feel Ozon is doing the same thing with us. He doesn't seem to trust his audience to keep up. Just as we begin to question the truth of the stories, Claude rewrites parts and they are replayed, just so we know we shouldn't trust everything.
The film raises so many ideas in its first half that some are inevitably underdeveloped. It is briefly mentioned that pupils are questioning the amount of time Germain and Claude are spending together. Germaine's wife also questions his feelings for the boy, but the film dismisses this all too quickly. The real disappointment is that any menace that the film had also becomes lost in the final third. Anyone who has seen Side Effects (2013) will get a strong sense of deja vu once we reach the film’s conclusion. What's real and what's fiction have blurred so much by this point that of course you question it, but it comes off equally as groan inducing.
But whilst the narrative sometimes trips over itself, the image carries many of the subtleties and ideas that make the film worthwhile. Many scenes within the house show characters reflected in mirrors as the drama plays out. Whilst it can often be blink and you miss it, background moments, it suggests that there is always another angle to what we are seeing. Another reality. Another truth. Characters are often introduced from behind. We see their body long before their face. They are blank canvases ready to be created, their personalities unwritten and undefined.
The pleasure of In The House is found in these moments. Small moments where the film perfectly balances all it is trying to achieve. It explores the nature and possibilities of storytelling but the grand narrative collapses by the end. Still immensely enjoyable, it does finish on a bit of a whimper.
It's the start of a new school year and literature teacher Germain (Fabrice Luchini) is caught off guard when one of his pupils, Claude Garcia (Ernst Umhauer) writes an overtly voyeuristic piece about his weekend spent in the house of his friend and fellow pupil Rapha Artole Junior (Bastien Ughetto). What starts as ostensibly innocent becomes more perverse as Claude's home invasion, and his stories, continue. Initially alarmed, Germain nurtures the boy’s talent and encourages him to improve his writing and develop his stories, his desire for them as potent as Claude's desire for Rapha's mother.
The power of storytelling is at the heart of this film, and it’s something Ozon has explored before. It is laugh out loud funny and at the same time, sinister, as it explores the ability for stories to compel and entertain us. As Claude's writing continues, we question everything and we are never sure who is really in control, who is leading who. The dialogue is littered with touches that reinforce this. Claude will call Germain maestro, does he simply mean master, or is Germain really the composer of these stories? It's an idea that runs through the film.
Managing to balance the comedy with the continuously darkening obsessions is an impressive feat, and we are gripped throughout thanks to some fantastic performances. Fabrice Luchini and Ernst Umhauer play off each other beautifully, and Kristen Scott Thomas, as Germain's art dealer wife, is as engaging as ever.
But as well as In The House manages to juggle these contrasting elements, it often shows its hand much earlier than you want it to. In scenes where Germain is looking at his wife's gallery, perplexed at the work on display, she explains the nature and meaning of the art to him. Similarly, you feel Ozon is doing the same thing with us. He doesn't seem to trust his audience to keep up. Just as we begin to question the truth of the stories, Claude rewrites parts and they are replayed, just so we know we shouldn't trust everything.
The film raises so many ideas in its first half that some are inevitably underdeveloped. It is briefly mentioned that pupils are questioning the amount of time Germain and Claude are spending together. Germaine's wife also questions his feelings for the boy, but the film dismisses this all too quickly. The real disappointment is that any menace that the film had also becomes lost in the final third. Anyone who has seen Side Effects (2013) will get a strong sense of deja vu once we reach the film’s conclusion. What's real and what's fiction have blurred so much by this point that of course you question it, but it comes off equally as groan inducing.
But whilst the narrative sometimes trips over itself, the image carries many of the subtleties and ideas that make the film worthwhile. Many scenes within the house show characters reflected in mirrors as the drama plays out. Whilst it can often be blink and you miss it, background moments, it suggests that there is always another angle to what we are seeing. Another reality. Another truth. Characters are often introduced from behind. We see their body long before their face. They are blank canvases ready to be created, their personalities unwritten and undefined.
The pleasure of In The House is found in these moments. Small moments where the film perfectly balances all it is trying to achieve. It explores the nature and possibilities of storytelling but the grand narrative collapses by the end. Still immensely enjoyable, it does finish on a bit of a whimper.