The Lake House (film)

''The Lake House'' is a 2006 American fantasy romance film written by David Auburn and directed by Alejandro Agresti. A remake of the South Korean motion picture ''Il Mare'' (2000), it stars Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock, who last appeared together in the 1994 action thriller film ''Speed''. The film revolves around an architect (Reeves) living in 2004 and a doctor (Bullock) living in 2006 who meet via letters left in the mailbox of a lake house where they both lived at separate points in time. They carry on a two-year correspondence while remaining separated by the time difference.

Plot

In 2006, Dr. Kate Forster is leaving a lake house that she has been renting near Chicago. Kate leaves a note in the mailbox asking the next tenant to forward her mail, adding that the paint-embedded pawprints on the path leading to the house were there when she arrived.

Two years earlier, in 2004, Alex Wyler, an architect, arrives at the lake house and finds Kate's letter in the mailbox. The house is neglected, with no sign of paw prints anywhere. During the subsequent restoration of the house, a dog runs through Alex's paint and leaves fresh paw prints where Kate said they would be. Baffled, Alex writes back, placing the letter in the mailbox, asking how Kate knew about the paw prints since the house was unoccupied until he arrived. The dog, Jack, then becomes owned by both Kate and Alex within their places in time. On Valentine's Day 2006, Kate witnesses a traffic accident near Daley Plaza and tries to save the male victim unsuccessfully. She impulsively drives back to the lake house, finds Alex's letter, and writes back.

Alex and Kate continue passing messages to each other via the mailbox, and each watches its flag go up and down as the message leaves and the reply arrives as they wait. They then discover that they are living exactly two years apart. Their correspondence takes them through several events, including Alex finding a book, Jane Austen's '' Persuasion'', at a railway station where Kate said she would have lost it and Alex taking Kate on a walking tour of his favorite places in Chicago via an annotated map that he leaves in the mailbox. Alex eventually meets Kate at her then-boyfriend's party; however, he doesn't mention their exchange of letters because it has not happened to Kate yet.

As Alex and Kate continue to write to each other, they decide to try to meet again. Alex makes a reservation at the Il Mare restaurant – two years into Alex's future but only a day away for Kate. Kate goes to the restaurant, but Alex fails to show. Heartbroken, Kate asks Alex not to write to her again, recounting the accident earlier that day. Both Alex and Kate leave the lake house, continuing on with their separate lives.

On Valentine's Day 2006 for Alex, Valentine's Day 2008 for Kate, he returns to the lake house after something about the day triggers a memory. Meanwhile, Kate goes to an architect to review the renovation plans for a house she wants to buy. A drawing of the lake house on the conference room wall catches her attention, and Henry Wyler informs her the artist was his brother, Alex, and Kate realizes that this was the Alex with whom she had been corresponding. She also learns that Alex was killed in a traffic accident exactly two years ago and realizes why he never showed up for their date – he was the man who died in Daley Plaza.

Rushing to the lake house, Kate frantically writes a letter telling Alex she loves him but begs him not to try to find her if he loves her back. Wait two years, she says, and come to the lake house instead. Meanwhile, in 2006, Alex has gone to Daley Plaza to look for Kate. He stands across the street from the plaza, and just as it seems he is about to cross, he reaches into his pocket to look at a note from Kate.

At the lake house, Kate drops to her knees sobbing, fearing that she has arrived too late to stop Alex. Not long afterwards, a truck pulls up. She walks forward smiling as the driver approaches. She and Alex kiss and walk toward the lake house.

Cast

* Keanu Reeves as Alex Wyler, a young architect who designs suburban condominiums. He has a strained relationship with his father Simon, a renowned but egocentric architect. Alex moves into the lake house even though he hates it and its impractical design.
* Sandra Bullock as Dr. Kate Forster, a physician who starts a new job at the Chicago hospital. She is the former tenant of the lake house. Her boyfriend is Morgan, whom she subsequently becomes engaged to and then breaks up with.
* Christopher Plummer as Simon Wyler, Alex's estranged, narcissistic father. He is a famous Chicago architect and the original designer of the Lake House.
* Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Henry Wyler, Alex's brother. He eventually opens his own architectural firm, Visionary Vanguard Associates.
* Shohreh Aghdashloo as Dr. Anna Klyczynski, Kate's older boss, mentor, and friend.
* Dylan Walsh as Morgan Price, Kate's boyfriend turned fiancé. He is pushy and persistent, and tends to make decisions for Kate. She eventually breaks up with him.
* Willeke van Ammelrooy as Mrs. Forster, Kate's mother and confidante.
* Lynn Collins as Mona, Alex's assistant who is romantically interested in him. He is indifferent to her constant advances.

Production

Filmed and set in Chicago, production began in March 2005. The lake house itself was built on what is called Maple Lake, located within the Maple Lake Forest Preserve off of 95th Street in the southwest suburb of Chicago: Willow Springs. The house was actually built on dry land and then flooded to appear that it was in the lake. After filming, the house was required to be removed, and a simple fishing dock was put in its place. The downtown scenes are in The Loop. The scenes where Kate and Morgan go to Henry's office, and Kate's dramatic exit down the stairs, were filmed at the Chicago Architecture Foundation. The scene where Henry and Alex talk on the street after being in their father's office was filmed on the 400 block of South Michigan Ave, in front of the Fine Arts Building and the Auditorium Theater. The scene where Alex and Simon converse in Simon's home was filmed at the Prairie Avenue Bookshop, an architectural bookstore in Chicago which closed in 2009. Other filming locations include Aurora, Illinois (now the Madison Park community) and Riverside, Illinois, a suburb west of Chicago that is known for its historic houses, and several Frank Lloyd Wright buildings. The railway station in the movie is the real station of Riverside, and the bridge that Alex crosses while chasing Jack is called the "Swinging Bridge"; it crosses the Des Plaines River. The scene where Kate gets stood-up is in Millennium Park at the Park Grill. The bar scene in the Loop where Kate is seen sitting on the barstool, speaking with the woman at the wooden bar, is the real "Millers Pub" located at 134 S Wabash Ave, Chicago, IL 60603.

Music

An original motion picture soundtrack featuring songs used in the film, as well as a selection of original score cues composed and produced by Rachel Portman

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