Saturday, June 24, 2006

THE LAKE HOUSE - waiting is dull

THE LAKE HOUSE is a romantic drama starring Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves. The lesson of the movie is that it is worth waiting for the right partner in life, even if you feel lonely and frustrated in the interim. Of course, having a movie about waiting is a lot less interesting than, say, watching a drama in which we have a tangible relationship between two protagonists. Imagine how much less interesting the movie is when it stars Sandra Bullock and Keanu "I know king fu" Reeves. Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against these actors in their respective genres of romantic comedy and action film. Just don't ask me to find them credible in a grown-up drama, playing it straight. Conflating these problems, the movie makes things even harder for itself by positing that the Sandra and Keanu are living two *years* apart - in 2006 and 2004. They communicate by writing letters to each other and leaving them in a bewitched mail-box. Fantastic. Of course, the screenwriters realise that this makes for dull cinema, so they contrive to have the two of them meet by chance in each other's time. Not only does this go against any kind of logic but it also proves how little chemistry they have when they do get together. Seldom have I felt so little emotional reaction to a hero and heroine finally kissing on screen. The upshot is that we have a movie that says that being with Sandra/Keanu is worth waiting 2 years. That may be. But when you are sitting in the audience with no hope of that particular pay-off what's the incentive? Your average Londoner can sooner learn patience by sitting on the Northern Line.

THE LAKE HOUSE is on release in the US and UK. It opens in Germany and Austria on July 6th 2006, Australia on July 13th and France on July 26th.
P.S. If you should ever desire to know what my ideal apartment is - check out Christopher Plummer's digs. The wine, the jazz, the books...Also, is Shohreh Agdashloo the new Omid Djalili? She's in everythng these days. Usually playing a doctor.

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