While a description of how the characters come to this realization would sound convoluted, screenwriter David Auburn, adapting the Korean film IL MARE, does a graceful and succinct job of handling the supernatural plot twist, allowing the characters the right balance of astonishment and fascination that gradually (at just the right pace) gives way to romantic attraction over a distance. The storyline is crafted very well, letting us get to know the characters and the people in their lives with just enough emphasis to make us care without lingering too long in any one period. The narrative also cleverly brings Kate and Alex together for us so that we can root for the relationship as a real thing, rather than as an abstraction. There’s also joy in nuances, including a speech by Christopher Plummer as Alex’s master architect father about the quality of light that serves as an unforced metaphor for many of the film’s themes as well.

Director Alejandro Agresti gets beguiling chemistry out of leads Reeves and Bullock, who demonstrate that they don’t need a speeding bus to bring out the best in each other. Reeves’ slightly hesitant manner – as though he’s watching and waiting to determine when he ought to step up – is ideal for a man who finds his greatest emotional fulfillment in an odd form of long-distance romance, while Bullock tamps down her usual ebullience to strong effect, still vibrant but with a lived-in quality that suits Kate very well.

Agresti and production designer Nathan Crowley have come up with a stunning title element – the lake house is so incredible-looking that we can just about take in stride that it has its own magic.

On the upside, the plot doesn’t go where we might imagine it’s going. On the downside, the story eventually encompasses one of those time-warp paradoxes that would cause STAR TREK characters to reach for Excedrin. If one can get past this, THE LAKE HOUSE is a pleasing diversion.