the lake house
I adore movies that center around books. I do. One of the reasons I love You've Got Mail so much is that Pride and Prejudice is so central to the plot. Not that I don't like movies that aren't about books, but there is something...deeper about the ones that do. For me, anyway. Perhaps it is the reminder that some things are universal. This movie, The Lake House, features another Jane Austen title, Persuasion. It works beautifully. This movie is beautiful. The copy of Persuasion is beautiful. The characters are beautiful. Well, you get the picture. There are so many things to say about this movie, but so few the I can actually get away with without ruining th eexperience for anyone who hasn't seen it yet. I'll just point out a few things that are insightful, true, enlightening:
Movies made/set in Chicago are fabulous. This movie shows the beauty and complexity of Chicago very nicely--even I, who have only been there once (thanks K&J for that one time), felt...there.
Movies that feature fabulous architecture are works of art just for that. The Lake House itself is amazing, as are the many Chicago buildings highlighted in the movie.
Movies with clips of Alfred Hitchcock films show wonderful insight by the director. In this case, it is Notorious.
Movies that make the audience applaud at the end are worth seeing twice. I'm going again next weekend.
I know that there are some scientific holes in this movie, but I think that's fitting. After all, science cannot unravel love, so why should a movie about love be perfect science. What is so lovely about this movie is the sparse technology that interferes, depite the contemporary time period. It reminds us that simplicity can still be found, and that love can sometimes best germinate in that simplicity. It also reminds us to embrace impossibility because sometimes we are surprised by the probablity of beauty and "rightness" within the most impossible of circumstances. What is most important is allowing ourselves to take the risk. This movie is about so many things, but I think what it most conveys is that true reward--true faery tales--never comes without being willing to risk. And, after all, isn't that what the best books try to show us?
Comments
...now...i've got TWO movies to see...
as i LOVE austen (but not as much as dickens), having read p&p and s&s last summer (started 'emma', but she (emma) was just so phenomenally ditzy that i couldn't stand it), i'll have to see *both* of these.
thanks for the input. :)
Posted by: shawn | June 20, 2006 10:08 AM
I enjoy Dickens myself. I'm in the midst of David Copperfield right now.
I completely agree with you about Emma (the character). I enjoyed the movie, but just couldn't read the book--I couldn't only stand the ditziness for the length of the movie. To tolerate her through the book was just too much for me.
Posted by: dramatic renee | June 20, 2006 11:29 AM
a dickens that you probably wouldn't get to for a while, but is worth reading sooner than later: bleak house.
i've read:
copperfield (really liked it)
2 cities (was really cool to read along with les mis, to see different views of french rev)
oliver twist
great expectations
nicholas nickelby (least favorite, but not bad)
...not really sure why i wrote all that, except that i'm really enjoying reading him, and i feel really proud of myself that i like it. *shrug*
i've gotten hooked on 'penguin classics', and have been plowing through them for a year or so.
Posted by: shawn | June 20, 2006 12:09 PM
I actually have read Bleak House. It was one of the books we had to "read" for British Novel. I went back later and really read it--when you read books that long for a class you really just end up skimming. It's a fantastic novel. Have you seen the recent BBC film of it? It was on Masterpiece Theatre, but I missed it. I haven't read Les Mis, but if I ever get around to it, I'll definitely have to reread 2 Cities along with. I haven't read Oliver Twist, I'm afraid. I'll get to it one day!
Posted by: dramatic renee | June 21, 2006 09:56 AM
OOOO!!! bbc film, you say? white, rice, me, that.
Posted by: shawn | June 21, 2006 10:22 AM
and...the recent OT movie was pretty good; you don't hate or love the characters as much as when dickens fleshes them out, but it's fun to see.
Posted by: shawn | June 21, 2006 10:23 AM
Okay, first of all, I'll interrupt your little tete a tete to say that I have plowed through Great Expectations, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I am also proud of myself on that one. : )
Secondly, Ren, dear, thank you for the review of the movie. I didn't know if it was going to be stupid from the previews, but I love the idea of the impossible being possible, so I am going to go see it now.
Posted by: Jill | June 21, 2006 09:07 PM
When I was young, I was thoroughly traumatized by that old b&w movie of Great Expectations--that part where Mrs. Havisham catches on fire....creepy. Also, the mummified wedding cake was creepy. As a result I didn't read GE for years. When I finally did read it, I loved it! The moral of this story is...Childhood trauma is very powerful, but not always rational. The end. :)
Posted by: dramatic renee | June 22, 2006 08:56 AM
...is "persuasion" worth reading, btw?
Posted by: shawn | June 22, 2006 03:42 PM
I enjoyed it. There are a few moments of "What are you people doing?" but the main characters are very engaging and relatable.
Posted by: dramatic renee | June 22, 2006 03:59 PM