Framing - The Lake House

The Lake House Trailer 2006
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V02lqEpbk2Y

The way a film is framed is extremely important to how the story progresses and what the story illustrates. Within the film 'The Lake House' the framing is obviously surrounded by a house on a lake. The most fascinating thing about the way the lake house is framed is that it is empty for most of the film, and has windows surrounding the entire house, making it almost see through. Between the two main characters, they use the lake house to communicate to each other from different ends of time. The house itself is like another character. The house has life, it has been loved, it is lonely, it has suffered loss, and it is empty. These emotions from the house itself reflect onto its owners which bind the two together. Both characters played by Keanu Reevs and Saundra Bullock, are the same as the house. The two both are alone but the house provides that love that they both need. Like the house you can always see the characters emotions and how they are feeling because it is always out there in the open. Within the film there are shots of each character with the house by themselves. The house is providing them with comfort but also allowing them to feel the emotions of being alone in the world. The placement of the house reflects how isolated each character feels, because it is in the middle of the country with no other houses around it. The house is framed as something that both character cannot let go because it connects them to something bigger than themselves. At the end of the film when the two finally unite, there is a single shot of the lake house using a mid shot. What this is portraying is the two characters moving on from what they thought they needed and wanting it to be real, into finally something that is real that they can both continue on with. The framing of the filming goes beyond the house itself, and moves into life away from the lake house. This is where the characters begin to feel lost because they do not have that sense of security from when they were both connected to each other. There are multiple shots within the film that show both characters doing the same thing in different times on the same day. This illustrates the sameness that the characters have, and when doing certain actions it reminds them both of each other and the lake house. The framing of this film is extremely well done, and connects to the audience by pulling the heart strings and showing how everyone can be alone, but there is always something that you can go back to in order to feel something again.