The Lake House
Sombre romantic drama - not half as bad as it looks.
Currently top contender for worst marketing of the year, 'The Lake House's unintentionally hilarious trailer is actually a red herring as far as the film itself is concerned. It's a curious hybrid of Hollywood melodrama and low key art-housey think piece, resulting from its combination of megastar cast with Argentinean indie director Agresti. The plot, concerning a magic letterbox (!) that allows Alex (Reeves) and Kate (Bullock) to communicate even though he lives in 2004 and her in 2006, is clearly in the realm of fantasy (and frankly stupid), but amazingly Agresti uses this start-off point to create something reflective and quietly moving. It's hard to see 'The Lake House' finding much of an audience, but it remains a unique and interesting creation. [Paul Gallagher]