The Lake House

I saw a movie last week without knowing much about it beforehand, and it took me by surprise how much I liked it. It's called The Lake House. It's about falling in love with a pen pal, and it has a timeline paradox worthy of Star Trek. (Of course, I love Star Trek, so timeline paradoxes don't bother me too much.) But this movie has a few other things that are quite special. A Pulitzer-winning playwright for a screenwriter and a director with a vision, just to mention two. Together they have created a richly textured story, with themes and nuances at every level. Every time I turn around I find another thread that ties back into it.

Themes of isolation, disconnectedness, distance, control, containment—also love, timing, meeting the right person at the wrong time, waiting, second chances, trust, and finally redemption and fulfillment. "Moving forward:" when is it really moving backward? Resistance to taking what (or who) is offered to you and having the courage to seize what (or who) you want instead. Taking risks, eschewing the "safe" alternative. Architecture, especially Chicago's, but also how it relates and creates feelings of connection (or disconnection) and control over one's environment. Yearning, waiting for the other to be ready. Identity, making a fresh start. The protaganists' lives are parallel, because they are experiencing the same things: losing their fathers, finding out who they are, trying to put the past behind them and make a new start, becoming a whole person. Light. Soul mates. Using hands—building, renovating, writing, drawing, healing—and touching, especially by proxy.

This film is definitely in my all-time top ten list. Rent it. Here's the trailer.