In the House

In the House is a French film about Germain, a literature teacher frustrated by his students' lack of interest in writing. His attention is caught by Claude, a sixteen-year-old who sits at the back of the class and shows unusual talent in his essays. Encouraged by Germain, Claude writes about a classmate's family, describing how he gained their trust and observed them at their home. The teacher and his wife Jeanne become absorbed in the boy's writing, and Germain urges him to continue, setting off a chain of events that slips beyond anyone's control.

François Ozon directed and wrote the screenplay, the tenth of the twenty films he has directed in chronological order, following Trophy Wife and preceding Young & Beautiful. Fabrice Luchini plays Germain, with Ernst Umhauer as Claude, Kristin Scott Thomas as Jeanne, Emmanuelle Seigner as Esther, Bastien Ughetto as Rapha fils and Denis Ménochet as Rapha père. The film was produced by Claudie Ossard and Eric and Nicolas Altmayer.

The film was released in September 2012 and runs 105 minutes, mixing comedy, drama, mystery and thriller elements. It took about 16 million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds a score of 7.3 from roughly 36,000 votes, while on TMDB it has 7.2 from far fewer votes, around 932. A critics' rating of 7.4 from 82 reviews places it slightly above the audience scores.