The Lake House (Il Mare) (2006) Movie Review

Although Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves zipped through their first movie “Speed,” their second pairing should be called “Slow.” Moving along like a turtle crossing the road, “The Lake House” gave me a drowsy feeling that lasted all day. Because both of these charismatic actors are among my favorites, I’m surprised at how lethargic they come across here. Also, since I’ve enjoyed time-travel romances like “Kate and Leopold” and “Somewhere in Time,” I’m disappointed by the way this one has been botched up.

I suspect Reeves and Bullock’s difficulty with the film’s illogical plot may have interfered with their performances. Just how illogical is it? You be the judge. Check this out: a man and a woman, who fall in love while living in two different time zones (the years 2004 and 2006), communicate by placing letters in a magic mailbox in front of a house they have both inhabited. Incredibly, they share the same dog.

Now I know we’re supposed to suspend disbelief while watching movies like this. However, when the characters live in a time of electronic progress, it’s practically impossible to accept an old-fashioned mailbox as their only means of communication. If the film were a Jane Austen-type period romance, it might have worked. “Might” is the right word, for many other changes would be necessary, mostly involving the confusing time structure and lack of a spirited visual presentation.

Ironically, a Jane Austen book, “Persuasion,” appears in “The Lake House” as a way to emphasize the importance of waiting -- which is what the audience has to do most of the time while watching this movie. Frankly, I got very tired of waiting and waiting and waiting for something to happen. When the main characters finally interact personally, it’s too late to care. Still, Bullock and Reeves do share one especially romantic scene together while they dance in the moonlight. The rest of the time they work listlessly as a doctor (her) and an architect (him), write to each other, read their letters out loud in a monotone, look sad, and pet the cute, scraggly dog -- an animal smart enough to navigate between time periods and play chess.

Maybe it’s the uncomfortable house on the lake that caused these people to feel so gloomy. It’s a glass box on stilts with a tree growing in the center, for heaven’s sake. Not much privacy, except for being off the beaten path. How would you like to wash the windows/walls in a house like this -- even if it does boast a magic mailbox in the front yard? That would be a real downer for me. And so was this movie.