Today’s quick review: The Lake House. In 2004, Alex Wyler (Keanu Reeves), an architect trying to forge his own path, moves into the lake house his father (Christopher Plummer) built. Two years later, Kate Forster (Sandra Bullock), a doctor working in Chicago, moves out of the same house. When her letter to the new owner instead reaches Alex in the past, the two strike up a relationship that reaches across time.
The Lake House is a fantasy romance about a man and a woman living two years apart. Linked by the mailbox of the house they each lived in, Alex and Kate puzzle out their peculiar situation and open up to one another about their deepest feelings. The Lake House has an interesting premise and a gentle tone, but its execution is mixed. Slow pacing and confusing logistics hurt an otherwise sweet story.
The Lake House’s strength lies with its premise. The rules of the mailbox are notionally simple but have interesting implications. The movie plays with them a fair amount, such as Kate’s attempts to rendezvous with Alex in the present. The time gap also sets up a pleasant dialogue between the characters. They communicate in writing, but the movie takes steps to make their conversations tonally comfortable and visually interesting.
Where The Lake House struggles is in spinning its premise into a full story. The movie takes a while to get going, slowly introducing its characters before the reveal. The rules of the mailbox work well enough later on, but as the movie puts more stress on them, they start to break down. Logical inconsistencies, disorienting jumps between past and present, and a rather passive story diminish the payoff.
Give The Lake House a shot if you are interested in an experimental romance that only gets most of the way there. Critical viewers will find plenty to dock it for, and the movie requires a certain amount of buy-in to work. But those who are willing to forgive its flaws will find The Lake House to be an engaging puzzle that captures the feeling of wistful isolation quite well.
For a sentimental romantic drama about a couple trying to find the right time, try The Notebook or The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. For another nonlinear romance, try The Time Traveler’s Wife or Your Name. For another long-distance romance, check out Sleepless in Seattle. For an action thriller starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock, try Speed. For a thriller about a father and son communicating across time, try Frequency.
[6.8 out of 10 on IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0410297/). I give it a 6.5 for a promising setup with a few flaws in its execution.