The Lake House (2006)
Netflix Synopsis: Speed co-stars Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves reteam for romance in director Alejandro Agresti‘s remake of the Korean film Siworae, exploring a mysterious mailbox that somehow bridges time. After moving away from her peaceful lakeside home, a lonely physician (Bullock) begins writing letters to the frustrated architect (Reeves) who now occupies the building, only to discover that they’re living two years apart.
Review: Considering my audience (and likely the intended audience for this movie… romance lovers), I’m sure to be generally disagreed with on this movie (and shocked if this isn’t the 2nd or 3rd review), but the fact is that it’s not that good. That said, it’s the perfect movie for the couch, a cold day and a warm blanket in that it occasionally warms the heart but leaves the viewer as empty and as quiet that that autumn day in which you’d like to watch it.
The Lake House stars Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves whose on screen chemisty is among the best in Hollywood. Neither actor turns in an award winning performance but the viewer knows exactly what they’ll get ahead of time and if that’s their taste (as it is mine), the pair won’t disappoint. But beyond the chemistry is a plot that just isn’t very deep and certainly not very well executed.
The viewer is led to believe that these two people are communicating across two years time (2004 and 2006 respectively) via a “magic” (or whatever) mailbox. How it’s magic, why they can communicate or why they never discuss anything besides their feelings is all left to the imagination of the viewer. I, for instance, after having talked to my out-of-time significant other for a bit would begin asking questions like, “Who wins the Superbowl in 2005?” or “Is it a good idea to stay the course in Iraq?”. I realize this is a romance, but even a hint of that sort of depth appears outside the ability of this movie to deliver.
As the movie wears on things begin to make little sense. For example, sometimes in the movie, the pair seem to be “talking” to each other. Yet neither is writing a letter and/or going to the mailbox during these discussions. And even more confusing is the eventual jumping around in time by the two story lines (his and hers) which inevitably leaves the viewer saying to himself/herself something like, “OK, now he’s in the past but it’s before his ***** died but after she knows him but before they kiss in the past that hasn’t happened yet for her.” Try unraveling that ball of twine two or three times during the movie and you’ll be ready to quit thinking altogether which apparently is exactly what the makers of this movie are counting on.
Now, I did give the movie 3 stars in NF because there are some genuinely touching moments. When the two go on their “walk” and he leaves her a painted message on the wall saying she wasn’t alone was neat. And when Keanu goes to the trouble of planting a tree to make her condo experience just a little nicer almost brough a warm-and-fuzzy tear to my eye. But those things weren’t enough to change my overall feeling about the movie which is:
Don’t think about anything deep, don’t ask any questions, just enjoy the chemistry and you’ll probably enjoy, at least a little, this movie.
The Good –
Sizzling chemistry between the romantic duo,
The effects of doing things across time like growing a tree or leaving a message were cool.
The Bad –
Stumpy and mostly irrelevent subplots,
Irrational at times
The Ugly –
Jumping from person-to-person and time-to-time without warning and assuming the viewer knows who is where and doing what in relation to the other person.
Rating: 
Submitted by: Brian 11/8/06
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