The Lesson

The film opens in medias res with Liam Somers being interviewed about his debut novel. The interviewer hints at the inspiration behind the story, setting up the central conflict: a fading patriarch trying to control family and art. The scene establishes Liam as both observer and participant in a larger literary drama.

Liam, a PhD student at Oxford, is offered a tutoring assignment through a tuition agency to a wealthy family. He travels to the country estate and is given a small house overlooking J.M.'s study. The arrangement promises access to the Sinclairs’ world and its pressures.

On arrival, Liam meets Bertie, who responds warmly, while J.M. Sinclair dominates conversations with vanity. Hélène remains cool and distant, hinting at emotional barriers in the household. The tension hints at a power struggle that will frame the entire stay.

Liam helps fix a malfunctioning printer, which earns a grudging respect from J.M. The prickly dynamic between master and tutor softens into wary détente as they negotiate boundaries. The moment marks the first flicker of possible alliance beneath the surface hostility.

Liam learns that Bertie’s brother Felix died by suicide, drowning in the estate pond. The death is treated as taboo and casts a shadow over family gatherings. The tragedy deepens the Sinclairs’ need to control narratives and appearances.

J.M. offers to pay Liam to proofread his latest manuscript, while Liam asks to read J.M.’s version of his own work. Liam finds the middle section gripping but dislikes the ending, noting a tonal mismatch with the rest. The disagreement foreshadows the clash of talent, ego, and authorship that will drive the plot.

In a heated scene, J.M. belittles Liam, saying he lacks talent and should take up teaching. Blinded by humiliation, Liam tears J.M.’s manuscript apart and tosses it into the pond. The act marks a definitive break in trust and reveals the precarious balance of power in the house.

With J.M. away and Bertie at a party, Liam and Hélène begin an affair. Their coupling binds Liam more closely to Hélène and raises the stakes of any future disclosure. The affair intensifies the web of secrets surrounding the Sinclairs.

The pair discover that the unfinished novel was Felix’s, not J.M.’s, and that J.M. had been pretending to be the author to finish Felix’s tale. This revelation upends J.M.'s authority and reframes the literary history of the family. It also makes Liam and Hélène’s alliance seem more dangerous and consequential.

Liam deletes the full electronic version of J.M.’s novel from the server, erasing the only complete copy. J.M. panics as he discovers the loss and suspects sabotage. Liam’s action ties him further into the tale’s secrets and sets in motion the final acts of the drama.

When J.M. returns, he discovers the paper copy is missing and suspects Bertie of wrongdoing. Liam, who can recall every word, hides behind clever misdirections while a deeper truth simmers beneath. The trust within the household frays further as accusations fly.

Because of his photographic memory, Liam rewrites the entire novel by hand to submit to the publisher. He ends up writing two endings: J.M.’s original ending and a version that mirrors his own perspective. The act plants the seeds for a contested authorship dispute and moral ambiguity.

J.M.’s wife reads both endings and declares Liam’s ending superior. The verdict complicates the power dynamics between father and son and between husband and wife. It confirms Liam’s growing sense of social and literary influence, even as he remains morally unsettled.

The night culminates in a drunken pond-side confrontation where Liam and J.M. clash over Felix, writing, and control. They tumble into the pond; J.M. drowns while Liam escapes, shocked and shaken. Hélène’s calm, cold gaze signals a deliberate manipulation rather than mere tragedy.

In the present, Bertie sits among the studio audience as Liam is interviewed. They exchange a knowing smile that acknowledges the past without clearing anyone of blame. The film closes by highlighting the corrosive power of art, ambition, and control on a family.