Today, we are going to explain a Drama film called “The Lake House.” It is a fantasy romance drama released in 2006.
Introduction
After living alone in a secluded lake house for some time, Kate decides to move out and rent an apartment closer to her work at the Chicago hospital.
Before leaving, Kate writes a letter for the next tenant, requesting the occupant to forward her mail to her new apartment. When a young architect, Alex, moves in, his co-worker, Mona, chides him, saying he’s crazy for buying a house made of glass because there’s no privacy.
As Alex unpacks, he finds Kate’s letter in the mailbox. Kate tells him that she already filed a change of address with the post office, but she asks Alex to forward any mail that might slip through to her new place.
Kate apologizes for the paw prints and a box at the attic, but she notes that they were already there before she moved in. Alex is puzzled because he doesn’t see any paw prints around the house. When he inspects the attic, he doesn’t find any box either.
Unusual Activities
When Kate gets home from an exhausting shift at the hospital, her dog, Jack, greets her. She goes straight to the fridge and finds out that she needs to buy food.
While Alex paints the handrails on the walkway leading to the lake house, a dog walks by and steps on the pan of paint, leaving paw prints behind.
On Valentine’s Day, Kate meets with her mother at the Daley Plaza to eat lunch and catch up. As Kate’s mother reminisces about her husband, Kate witnesses a bus hitting a man crossing the street. Kate immediately runs toward the accident and calls an ambulance.
Later that day, Anna, a resident physician at the hospital, finds Kate brooding over the death of the man involved in the accident earlier. Knowing that such incidents are expected at their workplace, Anna advises Kate to get away from the hospital on her days off and find a place where she could be herself.
Instinctively, Kate drives to the lake house with Jack and checks the mailbox. She finds a letter from Alex, telling her that she must have made a mistake sending her previous letter because the house has been empty for years.
Kate leaves another letter in the mailbox, assuring him that she once lived at the lake house. Alex is curious about the circumstances surrounding the appearance of the paw prints, but he’s even more perplexed when he reads Kate’s note mentioning that it’s 2006.
One day, Alex meets with his brother, Henry, for a drink and tells him that he bought the lake house. After a few drinks, Alex asks Henry to walk with him to North Racine Street to deliver a letter to Kate, but when they get there, he’s surprised to see that it’s still a construction site.
The next day, he tells Kate that she must’ve given him the wrong address and date, noting that she has written 2006 when it’s only 2004 in his calendar.
Unbelievable coincidence
Kate decides to find out if Alex is really two years behind, so she sends him a scarf, warning him that there will be a late snowfall that spring and everyone will get sick. Alex is skeptical at first, but as he sits down to eats his dinner, snow starts falling outside the house.
The following day, Alex writes a short note wondering about the possibility of corresponding across different times. When Kate puts another note in the mailbox, Alex notices the flag going up on its own. Kate witnesses the same phenomenon while she’s waiting for Jack to follow her to the car. Despite being able to communicate with Alex through the mailbox, Kate gets frustrated that she cannot see him, so she decides to leave.
Soon, Kate decides to introduce herself properly to Alex, so she writes him another letter telling him more about her. She notes that she was still working in internal medicine in Madison in 2004.
When Alex asks Kate about 2006, she jokes that people are all wearing jumpsuits and driving flying cars. Kate discloses that she’s also wondering about the paw prints. Alex thinks that they have the same dog, so Kate starts describing her pet and tells him that her name is Jack.
After not corresponding for a week, Alex invites Kate to take a tour of Chicago and leaves her a map marking his favorite places in the city.
Captivated by the breathtaking sites that she saw, Kate tells Alex that she wishes that they had taken a walk together. At one of the stops, Kate sees graffiti written by Alex on the wall, thanking Kate for spending a lovely Saturday with him.
Soon after the tour, Kate visits her mother at her house and lets her read her correspondence with Alex. Her mother tells Kate that Alex sounds like a nice man, but Kate points out the date on the letter, hinting that she can’t be with him. Her mother, however, assures her that it’s just a minor detail.
Futuristic Love
One night, Alex decides to visit his father, Simon, and give him some old blueprints. Alex discloses that they were Simon’s old designs, and he found them at the lake house. When Simon asks Alex where he’s been all these years, Alex says he was trying to forget and forgive Simon, but he failed.
Kate writes another letter to Alex saying she enjoyed the tour, but she still misses the lake house, especially the trees in the surroundings. Alex decides to go to the construction site in North Racine and plants a tree in front of the building. One rainy night, Kate runs toward the building for cover, but she drops something from her bag.
While she picks it up, a tree appears beside her. Alex tells Kate not to worry, saying they’ll be together soon. He promises Kate that he’ll find a way to be close to her so that he could take care of her.
One day, Alex takes Henry to the lake house to drink beer with him. Alex reveals that Simon completed the house when Alex was eight and before Henry was born. Alex laments that the glasshouse gives him a great view of the surroundings but prevents him from touching anything.
Henry points out that he’s got a maple tree growing inside the house, but Alex argues that it’s about containment and control. Alex contends that their father knows how to build a house, but he doesn’t know how to create a home. When Henry asks if he remembers being with their mother in the house, Alex recounts that their mother tried really hard to stay with them and Simon.
Henry suddenly reminds Alex about his dream to create a new firm called Visionary Vanguard, but Alex tells him that he can no longer pursue it because he has other plans. When Henry asks if his other plans involve a woman, Alex hesitates to answer. Henry notices his hesitation, so Alex decides to tell him about Kate, even though Henry might think he’s crazy.
In another correspondence, Kate asks Alex to find a book that she lost at the train station to Madison two years ago. She tells Alex that it was a gift from her father, so she asks him to put it in the mailbox if he finds it.
When Alex reaches the station, Alex sees Kate kissing a man goodbye, but he isn’t sure that it was her until she leaves a book behind. By the time he grabs the book, the train is already moving. When Kate looks outside the window, she sees Alex running with her book in his hand.
Soon, Alex notifies Kate that he has the book and promises to give it to her one day. Alex tells her that he had seen her inside the train, and he was struck by her beauty.
Love Struggles
Kate complains that she still doesn’t know what Alex looks like, so he proposes to meet up. Kate agrees and tells him to give her a call on July 10th, 2006, at 9:05 p.m. She’s startled when her phone suddenly rings, but she’s slightly disappointed to learn that the caller is not Alex but her ex-boyfriend, Morgan.
When Kate meets up with Morgan, he takes her to a fancy restaurant. However, the receptionist tells them that the restaurant is fully booked until October. Morgan told Kate earlier that he’s in Chicago for a meeting, but Kate surmises that he’s not really there for business.
Morgan soon admits that he wants to start dating Kate again. However, Kate worries that Morgan would move too fast in their relationship like he did once before. She recalls when Morgan moved into town years ago, he invited some of his new neighbors to meet her.
Morgan complains that Kate seemed to have warmed up quickly to one of his guests that night because he saw them making out. Kate denies making out with the guest, arguing that it was only one kiss with a random guy.
After completing a house at the construction site, Mona asks Alex out on a date, but their conversation is interrupted when Jack suddenly runs away.
Alex and Mona chase after the dog and soon find her in front of Morgan’s house. Morgan discloses that he’s having a party with his friends later and invites Alex and Mona to join them.
Morgan gives Alex his card and mentions that he wants to rent a house by the lake when his girlfriend Kate finishes her residency in Madison. Alex is curious to find out if Morgan’s girlfriend is the same woman sending him the letters, so he agrees to go to the party.
Kate’s birthday
In 2006, Kate celebrates her birthday by drinking alone at the bar, but Anna soon arrives to join her. Anna tells her that she would’ve prepared a cake if she knew about Kate’s birthday, but Kate says she didn’t want to make a big deal out of it.
Anna asks Kate if she has anyone that keeps her occupied besides work, so Kate tells her that she once had a boyfriend named Morgan, but she ended the relationship. When Kate arrives at Morgan’s house in 2004, Morgan and the guests surprise her with a cake.
Later on, Morgan introduces Kate to Alex, noting that he will help them find a house by the lake. Back at the bar, Anna asks Kate if she has someone new because Anna notices that Kate is always writing a letter during her breaks at the hospital.
Kate tells her that she has someone, but she still hasn’t met him. Kate is troubled by her complicated situation because she’s pushing away the man who wants to marry her, while she wants to give her whole heart to a man she has never met. Anna quips that the man Kate has never met must write “one hell of a letter.”
After hearing a few jokes about her mysterious long-distance lover, she suddenly remembers the surprise party Morgan threw for her years ago.
When Kate went out to the porch of Morgan’s house that night, Alex was there sitting by himself. After greeting Kate a happy birthday, Alex asks her if she has read Jane Austen’s “Persuasion.”
Kate tells him that it’s her favorite book and explains that it’s about two people meeting and almost falling in love. However, the timing is not right, so they have to part ways. They get another chance to fall in love when they meet again years later, but they’re not sure if they could still make it work because they might’ve waited too long.
Wrong Timing of Love
Alex asks her if she’s ever been in a similar situation, so Kate recounts when she ran away from home at age 16 because she fell in love with a guy. She went to San Francisco to live with him, but before she could pursue the relationship, her father showed up to take her back home.
Alex hears the music coming from the house and asks Kate if she can sing. Kate, however, tells him that nobody wants to hear her sing but hints that she can dance. Alex moves closer to Kate to dance with her. He brushes his face close to hers several times, wondering if he could kiss her.
Also Read: Excision The Complete Story
When they finally kiss, Morgan interrupts them. Mona breaks up the tension building up between them by telling Alex that they should go home because it’s getting late.
In 2006, the day after Kate’s birthday, she discloses that she remembers meeting Alex at Morgan’s house. Kate tells Alex that he should’ve said something, but Alex says he would’ve had a hard time explaining who he is. On top of that, Kate has a jealous boyfriend watching over her.
Kate points out that Alex also has a girlfriend with him that night, referring to Mona. Alex, however, insists that Mona is not his girlfriend. Days later, Alex receives a call from Henry, informing him that his father had a heart attack.
When Alex gets to the hospital, Anna informs him that his father’s condition has already stabilized. Alex visits Simon in his room and tells him that he’ll be there if he needs anything. Simon asks Alex to bring him coffee, so he goes to the coffee shop and writes a letter to Kate.
History of Lake House
Alex discloses that Simon built the lake house with his own hands as a gift for Alex’s mother. When his father became famous as an architect, his mother started having a hard time living with Simon, so she left. A year after her departure, his mother got sick and died. Simon didn’t attend the funeral, saying his wife was dead to him when she decided to leave the house.
Soon after visiting his father at the hospital, Alex receives a call from Anna, who tells him that his father had passed away. Kate tells Alex that she wishes that she could sit with him at the lake house so she could comfort him and tell him that everything will be okay.
Kate sends him a book of Simon’s architectural works that won’t be published for another two years. She hopes that it would help Alex realize how much his father loved him. Alex breaks down in tears after seeing a picture of himself as a child with his father as they enjoy the view outside the house.
Alex soon gets impatient and tells Kate that he wants to meet with her. Kate explains that Alex will have to wait two years while she will only have to wait one day. Alex, eager to see Kate again, tells her to pick the place, so Kate tells him to go to a restaurant called “Il Mare.” Alex visits the restaurant and makes a reservation two years from the next day.
The receptionist is baffled by the length of time, but she accommodates Alex anyway. When Kate arrives, the receptionist giggles as she recalls Alex making the reservation. Kate sits at their table and waits for Alex for hours, but he doesn’t arrive.
The next day, Kate informs Alex that he didn’t appear at the restaurant. Alex tells her that he wants to try again, but Kate has already given up hope of meeting with him. Alex reminds her of the book Persuasion, hinting that they can meet again and have a chance at a proper relationship.
However, Kate argues that real life is nothing like the book because it can be over in a second. She recounts the time she witnessed a man get hit by a bus while she was having lunch with her mother at the Daley Plaza.
When the man died in her arms, she thought about the people who would never see him again. Kate was bothered by the thought that there could be no one waiting for the man, so she drove to the lake house to contemplate.
Heartbreak
As she sought answers to the questions bothering her, Kate found Alex through his letters. Kate laments that she let herself get lost in the fantasy of being with Alex, but she argues that she now has to live her life because her correspondence with Alex is not real.
She asks Alex to stop sending her letters and not to make an attempt to find her. However, Alex still checks the mail day by day and gets disappointed that he finds nothing but the letters he sent to Kate.
While drinking with her colleagues at a bar, Kate receives a call from Morgan. When she meets up with him, Kate tells Morgan that she was really pleased to hear from him again. Morgan discloses that he got a job at a telecom company in Chicago, hinting that they will see more of each other. As Morgan walks Kate home, she kisses him, leaving behind the hope to get together with Alex.
Alex finally decides to move out of the lake house after not receiving any letter from Kate. He puts all the letters inside a box and leaves them in the attic. He then visits Morgan’s office and leaves the key to the house, telling him that it’s what Kate wants.
Aside from the keys, Alex also leaves Jack to Morgan. While Alex works on new architectural designs in his new apartment, Henry notices that he’s still tweaking the design of the lake house instead of creating something new. Alex explains that he wants to keep working on the design because it belongs to Kate.
Alex then notes that he’s no longer writing letters to Kate because she asked him to stop. Henry tells him that it’s finally time for him to meet a real woman, but Alex stresses that Kate was very real to him, more so than anything he’s ever known.
While Kate watches T.V. in her apartment, Morgan asks her to turn the volume down. She decides to turn the T.V. off and go to bed, but she gets irritated by the squeaky floorboard.
Love Still Remains in Depth
She stomps on the floor, causing a board to come loose, and discovers a copy of Persuasion inside. Inside the book, a withered rose marks a page containing a passage that reminds her of Alex. However, she still refrains from contacting him.
Months later, Kate takes Morgan to a dilapidated house that she plans on renovating. She tells Morgan that they can no longer stay at her apartment, noting that they’ve stayed there for more than a year. On Valentine’s Day 2008, Morgan and Kate visit the architectural firm called Visionary Vanguard Associates to discuss the renovations for the old house.
In 2006, Alex invites Henry for a drink, but Henry declines, saying she has to take his girlfriend out for Valentine’s Day. When Alex realizes the date, he recalls one of the letters Kate sent him.
After the meeting at the Visionary Vanguard office, Kate notices a design of the lake house hanging on the wall. Henry discloses that it was made by his brother, Alex. When she asks how he can get in touch with Alex, Henry reveals that his brother died in an accident two years ago. Kate runs away in tears after finding out where Alex was killed.
Climax
Alex drives back to the lake house, recalling that Kate told him where she was on Valentine’s Day 2006. Kate also rushes to the lake house to send a letter to Alex, telling him that he didn’t show up at that night because he was the man who got hit by a bus at Daley Plaza on Valentine’s Day. Kate begs him not to look for her and finally confesses that she loves Alex, but she asks him to wait two more years for her.
Alex goes to Daley Plaza, but he hesitates when he sees Kate with her mother. As he takes a step toward her, a bus passes him by. In 2008, Kate tearfully waits by the mailbox, not knowing if Alex read her letter. Not long, the mailbox flag goes down, signaling that Alex had picked up the note. Kate tells Alex in her letter that she will be waiting by the lake house in two years.
When Alex reads the note at the plaza, he walks away instead of approaching Kate. As Kate waits by the mailbox, Alex arrives and walks toward her.
When they finally come face to face, Alex kisses her passionately without saying a word. For the first time since they started writing letters to each other, Kate and Alex are finally together as lovers at the serene lake house.