The Lake House (2006)

Starring Sandra Bullock, Keanu Reeves, Christopher Plummer and Dylan Walsh

Imagine moving out of a house you still feel drawn to so you decide to leave a letter for the next tenant and before you know it you begin exchanging letters on a regular basis with this person by way of hand delivering them to the mailbox at the end of the driveway. Suddenly you feel chemistry developing between the two of you through your written communication but then you realize that there is a huge discrepancy- the two of you are somehow living two years apart. So now the question is, what to do?

This is the premise of the heart warming romantic drama The Lake House starring none other than Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves. Sandra Bullock plays Doctor Kate Forrester, an independent woman who loves her job and loves being able to help people but feels isolated and lonely in her life, her main companion being her dog Jack who she even plays chess with. Kate is living in the year 2006.

As the movie begins we see Kate drive away from a house made almost entirely of glass, held up by stilts that extend into the lake. It is autumn as evidenced by the multicoloured leaves on the trees and the ground. We then see a blue pick up truck come from the opposite direction and snow now covers the ground. Enter Alex Wyler, a talented, serious minded architect with some family issues who seems a bit too lonely for his own good. Alex also has a dog named Jack and he looks the exact same as the dog Kate has. Coincidence? Perhaps. Alex incidentally is living in the year 2004. Confused yet?

This film goes back and forth between 2004 and 2006 in a way that could make any sane person insane. The time travel of sorts is creative but albeit terribly confusing at times. This is one of those movies where if you leave the room for two minutes and do not put it on pause, you will miss something. You have to pay attention if you want to understand everything that is happening in this film. If you get distracted easily you may need to watch this movie more than once, or unfortunately maybe even skip it all together.

Against the backdrop of the serenity of a lakefront property, which seems particularly isolating during a thunder and lightning storm, and also the streets of Chicago, which seem to always be bustling with activity, the story of the unusual time travel relationship of Kate and Alex plays out. There is one particularly endearing scene that takes place on a Saturday afternoon when Alex maps out a walk for Kate through the streets of Chicago to see some of the buildings he has played a part in constructing. At the end of her walk Kate comes to a cement wall and sees the words- Kate I am here with you. Thanks for the Saturday together- written in big letters. That brings a smile to her lips.

Once again the chemistry between these two fine actors is revealed. The two have not starred in a movie together since 1994 when Speed brought us heart pounding drama as a city bus barrelled towards potential disaster. Now in The Lake House they have done it again but in a softer, gentler kind of way. They are both older and more experienced but the onscreen chemistry is still very much alive and well, even in the scenes when they are together in an emotional sense but not in a physical sense.

Co-starring in The Lake House is Christopher Plummer who plays the father of Alex, Simon Wyler, who is a self-absorbed architect and a rigid father who never had much time to love his two sons. Alex has a younger brother named Henry who is eight years his junior. Henry Wyler is played by a virtual unknown actor by the name of Ebon Moss-Bachrach who is also an architect. This type of work seems to run in the family of Wyler men.

Also co-starring is Dylan Walsh of Nip and Tuck fame. The appeal he has on the hit series has not been transferred to his role as Morgan, the boyfriend of Kate in parts of the movie. He is seen in parts of 2004 and then resurfaces in the life of the independent doctor in 2006. While well meaning, his feelings for Kate are real but she does not feel the pull to be with him as she does to be with Alex.

Kate realizes on her birthday in 2006 that she did meet Alex in the past and it was in 2004 at a party held in her honor. They sit outside on the step in 2004 and talk about life and interestingly enough, the book Persuasion by Jane Austen, which happens to be a favourite of Doctor Kate Forrester. They even share a kiss, which is interrupted by none other than annoying Morgan. Evidently it was that kiss, among other things that ended the relationship between Kate and Morgan. They both moved on with their lives, as did Alex but now, through pure happenstance, these two ill fated potential lovers have met again, thanks to a lake house and a rickety old mailbox.

This movie contains its share of conflict, as well as sad moments but it is not without its share of joy as well. What starts out as very basic human communication through letters turns into a sharing on so many different levels. It is letter writing in a way that has not been done since the Internet first came on the scene. In fact it is such a relief that the writers in this movie did not decide to have these two modern people communicate by way of e-mail instead of the old fashioned handwritten letter way. The old way is more poignant and personal and therefore it was the best choice.

Kate tells Alex that she misses the trees out by the lake house so Alex uproots one of the trees by the house and you see him driving with the tree in the back of the truck. He goes to the location where her apartment building is in 2006, but is only in the pre construction phase in 2004, and there out front of the building he plants the tree. In many frames of the movie you see Kate walking by that tree. In one scene at night, lightning flashes across the sky as Kate makes a run for the door and the tree is lit up in all of its brilliance. And of course it has grown taller in the two years since Alex planted it.

I will not give away the ending but you do have to suspend your mind and your concept of time to truly enjoy this movie. I did and hopefully you will too. Just make sure to watch it with someone you love. This movie is yet again another winner for Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves. It gets a thumbs up from me.