The Lake House (2006)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Alejandro Agresti

Writers (WGA):

David Auburn (screenplay)
Eun-Jeong Kim (motion picture "Siworae") ...

Release Date:

16 June 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Romance

Tagline:

How do you hold on to someone you've never met?

Plot:

A lonely doctor who once occupied an unusual lakeside home begins exchanging love letters with its former resident, a frustrated architect. They must try to unravel the mystery behind their extraordinary romance before it's too late.

Plot Keywords:

House | Lake | Correspondence | Architect | Mailbox

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Keanu Reeves	...	Alex Wyler
Sandra Bullock	...	Kate Forster
Christopher Plummer	...	Simon Wyler
Ebon Moss-Bachrach	...	Henry Wyler
Willeke van Ammelrooy	...	Kate's Mother
Dylan Walsh	...	Morgan
Shohreh Aghdashloo	...	Anna
Lynn Collins	...	Mona
Mike Bacarella	...	Mulhern
Kevin Brennan	...	Waiter
Frank Caeti	...	Cove Patron
Aliyah Carr	...	Girl Patient
Jennifer Clark	...	Nurse Practitioner
Jacob D. Dumelle	...	Patient on Gurney
Scott Elias	...	Doug (as Scott A. Elias)

Also Known As:

Il mare (USA) (working title)
The Sea (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for some language and a disturbing image.

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA | Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

UK:PG | Ireland:PG | Malaysia:U | USA:PG (certificate #42649) | Canada:G (British Columbia) | Singapore:PG | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Germany:o.Al. | Philippines:G | Australia:PG | Hungary:14 | Sweden:Btl | Hong Kong:I | Argentina:13 | Australia:M (DVD rating) | Iceland:L | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:12 | New Zealand:M

Filming Locations:

Aurora, Illinois, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Simon Wyler's death date is listed as October 6, 2004. October 6 is also the birthday of Swiss architect Le Corbusier, one of the two architects mentioned as his influences when he designed the Lake House (the other is Frank Lloyd Wright).

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Jack is finally caught, Alex clearly and loudly says "girl" when talking to the dog, but Morgan still refers to the dog as a male.

Quotes:

[from trailer]
Kate: It's not meant to be.
Alex: No, don't say that. Something must've happened.

Movie Connections:

References Siworae (2000)

Soundtrack:

I Wish You Love

Oh my gosh people, just go see it!

I've been a pretty avid movie fan for many years. I've seen countless romantic movies from all ages of film, and this one absolutely stands up well with the majority of the greatest of them.

Don't believe the critics, I don't. I've been disappointed and angered by being suckered in to seeing movies I disliked or absolutely hated on many occasions, and with greater frequency recently. I haven't a clue what makes the critical media tick, and I'm not sure that they do either.

This is very simply a lovely film on every level, from dialog, to direction, to cinematography, to consistently outstanding acting performances across the board. The delicately-embedded sheer decency of this film makes it a totally recommendable film for persons of all ages, although I'm guessing that most really young ones would get bored and fidgety before too long.

Bullock's and Reeves' performances and chemistry here can be described in one word: luminescent. Please avoid coming into the theater with a bad attitude, that is seldom helpful in gaining enjoyment from quality film-making. Just don't be overly critical of what you may conceive as plot holes and inconsistencies. After all, the first and foremost goal of film is to entertain you. And entertained you will be, in the grandest fashion of great Hollywood cinema.

I am deliberately refraining from specific description from the movie. Too many people are posting spoilers without warning here. But the chemistry is magical, the plot logical if entirely implausible, and the complete package is as satisfying as Hollywood is likely to provide.

I came out of the theater thinking that this is the kind of movie that is seldom made anymore, but then I realized that it's the kind of movie that has seldom been made at any juncture in the history of film.

An extraordinary effort, and a stunning success. Don't miss this one in the theater, because you'll later wish that you hadn't. I expect word-of-mouth to provide this film with a long theater run, but don't wait until it's too late.

Note to Hollywood: You have in these leads potentially one of the great romantic pairings in the history of film. Don't blow your chance.