The Lake House DVD > Reviews > Keanu and Sandra - Together Again

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Loved it
Story	Outstanding
Characters / Performances	Outstanding
Special Effects	Standard
How does it compare to similar films?	Outstanding

Advantages:	Great story, easy to follow, well written, excellent performances, wonderful sound track, beautiful scenery
Disadvantages:	Some of the scenes are a bit far fetched

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

When I saw this movie at the video store, I immediately wanted to buy it, even though I hadn't seen it. First of all, it was Keanu and I love Keanu. Next, it was Sandra Bullock - another of my favourites. And they were so good together in Speed, they seemed to have a real chemistry. So, when I read the back of the movie box it sounded very intruiging.

A love story about two lonely people who should be together. Sandra Bullock plays Kate Forster, a busy doctor who tends to push everyone away rather than form a close relationship. Keanu Reeves plays Alex Wyler, an architect who seems to have problems with his family in his past. Both live in a beautiful lake house, just at different times. Very different times.

The movie opens up with Kate moving out of the lake house with her dog, Jack, and leaving a letter for the next occupant of the house in the mail box. In her letter she explains that she doesn't know where the paw prints on the walk came from, nor the box of stuff in the attic. She also explains that she is moving to Chicago, if the new owner could forward any mail to her. She is going to work at a busy hospital where she soon feels lost and alone. The year - 2006.

Alex moves into the lake house, to find her letter. He is a bit confused as he reads her letter. There are no footprints and there is no box in the attic. Suddenly, out of nowhere - a dog appears and makes herself at home. This is after she walks through a paint pan and tracks paw prints across the walk. He writes her back and puts the letter in the mail box. The year - 2004.

As they write back and forth, placing the letters in the mail box, they come to realize that they are living in two different times. But even though they are separated by two years, they become closer to each other than they could ever believe. Falling in love but not knowing how to span the times - they find little ways to share. One such scene, Alex asks Kate to take a walk with him. He writes her a letter walking her through Chicago and telling her about the things she is seeing. I won't go into too much detail about other scenes as it would ruin the movie and I really don't want to spoil it for anyone.

But let me say that they did an excellent job of not making it seem choppy or disoriented. I mean, if you can put aside the disbelief of two people being separated by two years - then you will have no problem following the story line. And it is a wonderful love story. Touching and sweet - it really is a bit of a chick flick, although my husband enjoyed watching it with me.

The supporting cast was also excellent. Playing Alex's father is Christopher Plummer. Now, I remember him from years and years ago in the movie "The Sound of Music". He has a long history of films. In the role of Alex's father he commands the screen. His performance is strong and impressive. Alex's brother, Henry is performed by Ebon Moss-Bachrach. I had never heard of him, but through the entire movie I kept looking at him and thinking, "he reminds me of someone". Then my husband pointed out to me that he looks very similar to James Spader. So, there you go. That's who he reminded me of. Some of the other supporting cast were: Shohreh Aghdashloo as Kate's boss, Willeke van Ammelrooy as Kate's mother, Dylan Walsh as Kate's on-again/off-again boyfriend and Lynn Collins who is in love with Alex.

I can't finish without mentioning the music. While it doesn't contain any big hits or flashy sound - it weaves in and out without interupting the flow of the movie. Instead it lifts it up and supports it. It really helped set the whole feel of the movie.

I also can't finish without mentioning the house. The Lake House. When the opening scenes showed the house, I fell in love with it. Built on stilts it hangs over the lake, making it seem as if you would be living on the lake. The walls are almost entirely made of glass, but out in the middle of nowhere - what would it matter. It simply seems to fit into the surroundings. I love this house. I would own a house like this.

Being on DVD format, I'm sure there are those of you out there saying "Yeah, but what else does the DVD have on it?" because all of us have gotten so use to looking for the extras on the DVDs. Well, it's not a whole lot. It does have the standard language selection. It also has scene selection. But other than that, the only other extras it has are some deleted/extended scenes. Which, when we watched them, we decided we could see why they took them out. Not that they were bad, they just wouldn't have really added anything to the story.

So, to wrap things up, I have to say that I really enjoyed the movie. It was touching, sweet, at times heart wrenching, even suspenseful. While most would probably say it was a chick flick, I think the guys would be entertained as well. And if not, you can sue me after you watch it. It's worth giving it a try. Put your reality check on the shelf, settle in with a nice glass of wine and enjoy true love at it's finest.  

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