In The House

In The House, the latest movie from prolific French director Francois Ozon is a very entertaining film, even if the end leaves you feeling a bit hollow. At times, this film is pure genius and at times it's incredibly predictable, but you forgive those times because of its moments of genius. And it's because of those moments of genius that I give In The House two and a half buckets of Killer Korn.



The premise for In The House sounds like one someone would cook up for a serial killer. A young man sits in a park, sees a house and wonders what it's like inside. He then cooks up a way to get in said house and puts his plan in motion. In America that idea would have been the brainchild of the serial killer, but in France that idea is cooked up by 16 year old Claude Garcia played with brilliant cunning by Ernst Umhauer. Claude is a high school kid who lives with his disabled father, his mother took off when he was nine so Claude does everything for him and his dad. That house he wanted to gain access to was the house of fellow classmate Rapha Artole, played with the precise awkwardness of an unsure, insecure high schooler by Denis Menochet. The two boys share literature and math together and Rapha is horrible at math and Claude figures out that math is the key to unlocking the front door to that house he stared at from the park.

In lit class Claude, Rapha and the rest of their class was given a writing assignment by their teacher Germain, played by the amazingly talented Fabrice Luchini. The writing assignment, the first of the new school year was to tell what you did last weekend. While most of the class wrote papers that said nothing, Claude's paper caught the eye of his teacher and the teachers wife Jeanne, played by the beautiful Kristin Scott Thomas (whom I did not know spoke fluent French, learn something new everyday). Claude's paper explains how he wanted in the house, gained entry due to Rapha's poor math skills and he becoming his unofficial tutor, and then catching that unmistakable "scent of a middle class woman". Claude ends his assignment with "to be continued" and Germain sees some real talent in Claude and he's curious about what else is coming. Initially he wants Claude to stop but it's too late, he sucked in and does whatever he can to keep the two boys together, even to the detriment of his own job.

Now honestly, the reason I wanted to see this film was for one scene, just one scene that made my eyebrows raise when I saw it in the trailer. Claude was in bed with Germain's wife Jeanne and I HAD to find out how that happened. I HAD to know if that was real or imagined. That scene made me buy a ticket so the trailer did it's job, well done. While it is not visually stunning, In The House is scored beautifully by Philipe Rombi. The musical cues and melodic piano accompaniment gave this movie a more delicate feel which was nice. Overall the film does not dissapoint except the ending, but if you can forgive the empty, overly contrived ending then you will enjoy In The House as I did. I'll see you at the theater my friends.