The Lake House (2006)

Romantic drama directed by Alejandro Agresti. It's a new version of the South Korean film Il Mare (2000).

Sandra Bullock is a doctor called Kate. Keanu Reeves is an architect called Alex. The pair fall in love. The problem is that Alex lives in 2004, while Kate lives in 2006.

They communicate through letters left in the mailbox of a lake house in Chicago, somehow bridging the two-year gap but without being able to meet.

Trying to work out the various time/space concepts made my head hurt. It’s great that the film makes you think, but this tends to be at the expense of the storytelling. I wanted to focus on the relationship between the couple, and not get bogged down by the dodgy science. Other films, such as Back to the Future, deal with the conceptual stuff much more neatly so that it can be moved out of the way and not distract from the plot.

Another flaw is that – by definition – too much of the film has to show the two characters alone, talking to themselves. The best moments are those rare occasions when we actually see the pair together – or nearly together.

I really enjoyed The Lake House despite the fact that it fundamentally doesn’t work. Thankfully, Bullock is great, whatever she’s in, and she raises an average drama to something well worth watching – as long as you don't ask any questions.