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Actors: Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock
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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about The Lakehouse |
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Kate Forster is a depressed doctor in an unsatisfying relationship. She has just moved out of a lake house to live in the city, and leaves a letter in the mailbox for the next owner.
The letter is discovered by Alex Wyler, an architect whose father designed the lake house, living there two years in the past. Alex and Kate soon realize that they are exchanging letters back and forth to each other through the mysterious mail box, all the while living in separate times.
They fall in love through the letters, but the trick is, how can they be together when they can't even meet each other?
--Sarah Bastin, Resident Scholar
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The Lake House follows Keanu Reeves an architect in 2004 and Sandra Bullock a Doctor in 2006 as they go about their lives and relax at the Lake House. However mysterious things start to happen, especially when Bullock's character writes a letter hoping the new occupant of the house will enjoy it as much as she did. Reeves is confused as he has only just bought the house that his father designed, so he replies to her letter. They soon discover that they are living two years apart and somehow through the Lake House's mailbox are communicating through time. This becomes an obstacle to overcome when the two fall in love with one another.
The only real flaw with this film is what I will call 'The Time Machine paradox.' The film alludes to H.G. Wells' 'The Time Machine', albeit with a more romantic approach and instead of a machine it is a mailbox. The Lake House makes the mistake of using an event to cause Bullock to go to the Lake House in the first place, which is then changed in the past. This would then mean that she would never have gone to the Lake House and so the ending would not have happened in the way it was portrayed.
--H Louise, Resident Scholar
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Kate, a lonely young doctor, moves out of her beautiful house on a lake to Chicago. She leaves a letter in the mailbox for the new tenant, asking them to please forward any of her mail than might still get there to her new address. Alex, a talented architect who has just bought the Lake House, is rather confused by the letter. As far as he knows, no one has lived in the house for several years. Also, Kate mentions dog's paw prints at the front door: “Sorry about those, they were already there when I moved in” – but Alex sees no paw prints… He writes a reply to Kate saying that there must be some confusion; perhaps it is not the Lake House she is talking about?
Kate sees a young man hit by a car. Being a doctor, she runs to help and fights to save his life, but he dies. She is very shaken by that, and her supervisor at work tells her to take some time off. She goes back to the Lake House, and in the mailbox she finds Alex's reply to her letter.
Alex starts renovating the house. When he does some painting, a stray dog comes running in, steps into a tray with paint, and leaves paw prints at the front door. Alex takes a closer look at Kate's letter, and she at his. It turns out that she is in 2006, and he is in 2004. They are separated in time, and Alex actually lived in the Lake House before, not after, Kate.
Skeptical at first, they are forced to admit that what's going on is real. They keep writing letters to each other; the mailbox of the Lake House serves as a link between the two timelines. As they get to know each other better, Alex and Kate fall in love. But how can they meet? Of course, Kate can tell Alex where she was 2 years ago – and she does – but they both understand that the 2004 version of Kate will know nothing about Alex. Alex comes to Kate's birthday party, thrown for her by her then-boyfriend Morgan. They talk, and dance, and even have a kiss. Morgan walks in on them kissing, and that leads to his breakup with Kate. Now, in 2006, Kate remembers how she had kissed a stranger, and knows that it was Alex, but they are not any closer to meeting as two people who know and love each other.
Alex comes up with an idea – he suggests to meet “tomorrow,” in Kate's time, at a certain restaurant. He, of course, would have to wait 2 years for that meeting, but he is willing to do that. Kate comes and waits, but Alex never shows up. Kate writes to him asking to end their correspondence, telling him that something must have happened in these 2 years that made him lose interest in her, so there is no point to keep writing. Eventually, she learns what took place: Alex was that man she saw hit by a car and failed to save. When she realizes that, Kate rushes to the mailbox trying to warn Alex, begging him not to come to that place on that day. He receives the letter just in time.
--Laura Southcombe, Resident Scholar
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Sandra Bullock is an independent doctor. Bullock once taken an unusual lakeside home begins exchanging love letters with its most recent neighborhood. Bullock falls in love with her neighbor Keanu Reeves.
Keanu Reeves a disturbed architect. When they find out that they're in fact living two years distant. They must try to unravel the mystery behind their strange romance before it's too late for them.
--Faiza Iqtidar, Resident Scholar
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Kate is a new doctor overwhelmed with work and the fleetingness of life, while Alex is an architect whose love of buildings is complicated by the rocky relationship he shares with his father, a reknowned architect himself who actually built the lakehouse. Alex moves into the beautiful but rundown house on a lake, where he finds a letter in the mailbox from a "previous" tenant, Kate, who is in reality renting the apartment from Alex two years in the future (2006). After a couple of letter exchanges through the enchanted mailbox, both Kate and Alex accept that they are living two years apart and begin to correspond regularly. They soon develop a deep relationship through letters, pondering life and their careers. Alex is able to meet Kate a few times during his present and her past, falling even more deeply in love with her. Finally they set a date to meet in person. When Alex fails to show up, Kate decides that she is wasting her life focusing so much energy on their relationship and breaks it off, returning rather reluctantly to her ex-boyfriend. Both are heartbroken at being apart from each other. Finally, we learn why Alex failed to show up at his long-awaited date as well as the answer to whether or not Kate and Alex will ever be united as once more frantic letters are exchanged.
--Shanna, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of The Lakehouse |
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of movie:
- present (2000-2010)
Romance/Love/Hugging
Yes
Kind of romance:
- email/letter/phone/fax relationship
Fantasy/Magic?
Yes
Lover is...
- from another time
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
- Female
Profession/status:
- doctor
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Hair color?
- brunette (Brown)
- brunette (Black)
Body type
- (man) average
Events of movie makes character more...
- happy
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Sense of humor?
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Male
- Female
Hair color
- brunette (Brown)
- brunette (Black)
Hair style
- (man) short/standard straight
- (woman) medium/shoulderlgn straight
Body type
- (woman) average
How much in movie?
- 80%
- 90%-100%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Main Adversary
Identity:
- general circumstances
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Midwest
Water?
Yes
City?
Yes
City:
- Chicago
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- no torture/death
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
Movie makes you feel...
- very happy
- thoughtful
Any profanity?
- None
- Occasional swearing
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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