THE LAKE HOUSE [2006]

How Do You Hold On To Someone 

You've Never Met?


   

Dear new tennant, welcome to your new home.
As the previous tenant, let me say I hope you'll like living here as much as I did.
I filed the change of address with the post office, but you know what a crapshoot that can be.
So if anything slips through, would you do me a favor and forward my mail?
I'd appreciate it.
My new address is below.
Thanks in advance.
P.S.: Sorry about the paw prints by the front door.
They were there when I moved in.
Same with the box in the attic.
~Kate's letter

Paw prints?
What the hell is she talking about?
~Akex, after checking the front door

Dear Ms Forster.
I got your note and I'm afraid there must be some kind of misunderstanding.
As far as I know, the lake house has been empty for several years.
Maybe your note was intended for the Sandburg house down the shore
since no one has lived in this house for years.
But I'm curious about the paw prints.
~Alex's letter

Dear Mr. Wyler.
I'm very familiar with the Sandburg cottage and I can guarantee I never lived there.
I'm old-fashioned, but I don't think a cottage should be over 6000 square feet.
So, let me try again.
I used to live at the lake house then I moved.
Now I live at 1620 North Racine in Chicago.
I'd appreciate it if you would forward my mail if you get any.
Oh, by the way, it's 2006.
Has been all year, ask anyone.
~Kate's letter

2006?
What does she mean, 2006?
~Alex Wyler

[at the construction site]
Henry: What are we doing here?
Alex: I have to deliver a letter.
It should be here, 1620 North Racine.
Henry: But... there's nothing here.
Are we meeting someone? Does somebody live here? What?
Alex: Yeah, I thought so.
Henry: Should we ring the bell? Beep, beep.

Dear Ms Forster.
I went to 1620 North Racine, and it's not there.
It's just a construction site.
From the pictures it looks nice, but not for another 18 months.
What am I missing here?
Maybe you got the address wrong, because you got the date wrong too.
~Alex's letter

Okay my mystery correspondent, I get it.
Just in case you really are where and when you think you are, you'll need this.
There was a freak late snow that spring and everyone got sick.
So, plenty of rest, lots of fluids.
Doctor's orders.
~Kate's letter

Can this be happening?
~Alex's note

Why not?
~Kate's note

Impossible, I know. 
Not possible, but it's happening.
~Alex's note

Kate: I'm a doctor, dedicated to curing he sick.
At least trying to.
Alex: I'm an architect.
I like to build.
And while I wouldn't say my current project is ideal, it allows me to be here, in this place,
and that's enough for now.
But tell me something.
If you're working in a hospital in Chicago now, where were you before, in my time?
Kate: Two years ago, in your time, I was working in internal medicine in Madison.
 
Alex: Tell me about the future.
What's it like in the year 2006?
Kate: I'm afraid the world's pretty much the same.Of course, we all dress in shiny metal jump suits and drive flying cars,
and no one talks anymore because we can read each other's minds.
But the truth is, man from the past, not much has really changed in 2006.
Speaking of the past, though, I've been thinking about the paw prints.
How is that possible?

Alex: Well, I think we have the same dog.
Kate: Oh, yeah? What's your like? 
According to the vet, mine is 8 years old in my time, 6 in yours.
She's skinny, has sad eyes, snores, and sleeps like a person.
I don't know why, but I call her Jack.

Girl patient, about the movie: Is she gonna marry him?
Kate: What do you think?
Girl patient: I don't know. He's kind of old.
Kate, chuckles: He's not that old.
Girl patient: My mom's last boyfriend was bald.
He was nice, but my mom didn't marry him.
Kate: No?
Girl patient: "There's always something better coming around the corner."
That's what she says.
Maybe that's what that lady should do. [about the actress] 
Wait for something better to come around the corner.
Kate: Maybe.
But if she's not careful, she could spend her whole life waiting.

Kate: Sorry I haven't made it to the mailbox lately.
It's been a long week.
All night shifts.
Alex: Good to hear from you.
I thought you left me.
You should know that you're my only connection to the future.

Alex: How come we never talk about the things we like?
Kate: Let's see, reading the classic to Jack.
Alex: Who's his favorite?
Kate: Dostoyevsky.
Alex: For me, this city, on a day when the light is so clear that I can touch every detail,
every brick and window in the buildings I love.
Come on, take a walk with me this Saturday.
Let me show you.
Kate: You're crazy.
Why are you going through all this trouble for me?
Alex: No trouble.
Summer's here.

Alex: Okay, your turn. Favorite things.
Kate: Where to start?
When I smell the flowers before I see them.
When it starts to rain just as the picnic is ending.
And I love the smell of Jack's paws.
Alex: You didn't forget to mention your husband, did you?
Kate: Of course I love my husband, who is also a doctor.
Plastic surgeon for small farm animals.
Alex: Good. I'm married too.
I've got 8 children and none of them look like me.
I'm worried, Kate.
Kate: I would be too.
Alex, chuckle: I'm single.
Kate: Me, too

Henry: Looks smaller.
When did he complete it?
Alex: You weren't born yet, and I was 8.
[about the upper deck]
Can't swim.
There should be a stairway down to the water, a porch, a deck.
Here, you're in a box.
A glass box with a view to everything that's around you but you can't touch it.
No interconnection between you and what you're looking at.
Henry: I don't know... he's got this big maple growing right in the middle of the house.
Alex: Containment. Containment and control.
This house is about ownership, not connection.
It's beautiful. Seductive, even. But it's incomplete.
It was all about him.
Dad knew how to build a house, not a home.
But you know, I think he wants us to do what he couldn't.
But admitting that, would mean admitting that he came up short in some way that he could do more.
And that tortures him.

My dearest Mr. Wyler, are you willing to play a game with me?
Two years ago today, I was taking the 145 train to Madison from the Riverside station
and I forgot something there.
It was a gift from my father.
If you find it, can you please put it in the mailbox?
It would mean a lot.
~Kate's note

Alex: Kate, I found it.
I have it with me.
One day I'll get it to you, trust me.
I know how important it is to you.
You might not remember, but we saw each other.
At least I saw you.
You never told me how beautiful you are.
Kate: Maybe you saw somebody else.
That was a bad hair year for me.
Alex: Long brown hair, gentle-unguarded eyes...
Kate: Okay, you saw me.
But I still don't know what you look like.
Alex: Well, why don't we just get together in the future,
and you can let me know what you think.
Kate: It's a date.
Okay, why don't you call me July 10th, 2006 at 9:05 PM.

Dr. Anna: So, who is it you write to?
I couldn't help...
Every time you get a break at the hospital, you're writing something.
Kate: There is someone.
It's kind of a long-distance relationship.
Dr. Anna: How did you meet?
Kate: We haven't.
Dr. Anna: What? You're kidding.
Kate: The story of my life. Keep everything at a distance. Everyone.
The man who was standing in front of me, the one that wanted to marry me,

him, I push away, I run from him.

In the meantime, the one man I can never meet,

him, I would like to give my whole heart to. 

Dr. Anna: He must write one hell of a letter. 

 Kate: It was you.

Why didn't you say anything?

 Alex: You would've thought I was crazy or drunk, or both.

Kate: Yeah, but... I liked you.

You should have said something.

Alex: How? You were with your boyfriend.

Kate: Excuses, excuses. You are a coward.

 Alex: I'm not a coward.

Kate: Oh, really? What about your girlfriend?

 Alex: I told you already, she's not my girlfriend.

Kate: He's not my boyfriend either.

Alex: Oh, really? Well, what is he, then? Your brother?

Kate: We have a comedian.

What's you have, a clown for breakfast this morning?

 Alex: Wonderful, our first fight!

You could write a song about it and go sing it in San Francisco.

 There is something I never told you, Kate.

 It was my father who built the lake house, with his own hands.

It was a long time ago, before he was famous,

when he still had a family and worshipped my mother.

 Her name was Mary, and the house was a gift for her.

She was smart and funny.

She could have done anything, 

but chose to take care of my brother and I and help him build his career.

The more successful he became, the more impossible he was to live with.

Finally, she just couldn't take living with him anymore.

She left him.

Within a year, she got sick.

Unfortunately, she never learned how to stop loving him.

He wasn't at the funeral.

When I asked him why,

he said, "She was dead to me the moment she stepped out of the house." 

And then he gave me one of his architect-of-the-year grins.

~Alex's letter

 A serious architect takes that into account.

He knows that if he wants presence, he must consult with nature.

 He must be captivated by the light.

Always the light.

Always.

~Simon Wyler

I'm so sorry, Alex.

 I wish somehow I could be there with you,

that we could sit together and look out over the water and the light in this house your father built.

I could be a shoulder for you like you've been for me.

And tell you that everything is gonna be okay.

If I could do one thing for you today, from here, one small simple thing from the future,

I hope this is it.

It won't be published for a couple of years, but I don't think you should have to wait that long.

I hope it helps you know how much you were loved.

~Kate's letter, about Simon Wyler's book

Alex: Pick a place, I'll be there, I promise.

Tomorrow, what do you say?

Kate: But, Alex, it won't be tomorrow for you.

You're gonna have to wait 2 years.

Alex: I know, I don't care, I'll wait.

Kate: Are you sure?

Alex: I do.

I've never been so sure of anything in my life.

Kate: Okay, I'll see you in 2 years, then.

Alex: See you tomorrow, then.

Alex: Kate, where would you like to go?

Kate: Il Mare.

Hostess: When were you hoping to dine with us?

Alex: 2 years from tomorrow.

Hostess: 2 years from tomorrow?

Alex: Yeah.

Hostess: 2 years?

Alex: From tomorrow.

Hostess: Can I have your name?

Alex: Wyler.

Hostess: Hello. Name?

Kate: Forster. Or Wyler, I'm really not sure.

Hostess: Wyler? [smiling] Wyler...

Kate: You weren't there.

You didn't come

Alex: I don't understand.

Something must have happened, I'm sorry.

I've got 2 years, Kate. We can try again.

Kate: No, Alex, it's too late.

It already happened, it didn't work.

Alex: Don't give up on me, Kate.

What about Persuasion? You told me, they wait.

They meet again, they have another chance.

Kate: Life is not a book, Alex.

It can be over in a second.

I was having lunch with my mother at Daley Plaza, and a man was killed right in front of me.

He died in my arms.

And I thought, "It can't end just like that on Valentine's Day."

And I thought about all the people who love him, waiting at home, who will never see him again.

And then I thought, what if there is no one?

What if you live your whole life and no one is waiting?

So I drove to the lake house looking for any kind of answer.

And I found you.

And I let myself get lost.

Lost in this beautiful fantasy where time stood still.

But it's not real, Alex.

I have to learn to live the life that I have got.

Please don't write anymore.

Don't try to find me.

Let me let you go.

Alex: Still wanna rent a lake house?

It's what Kate wants.

Morgan: How the hell do you know what Kate wants?

Alex, handed him the keys: Trust me.

Henry: You're still writing with Kate?

Alex: No.

Henry: Why not?

Alex: She asked me not to.

Henry: Why?

Alex: Time.

While it lasted, she was more real to me than any of that stuff.

She was more real to me than anything I've ever known.

I saw her.

I kissed her.

I love her.

And now she's gone.

~Alex Wyler

Kate: Who did this drawing?

Henry: My brother did, actually.

Kate: Who's your brother?

Henry: Alex Wyler. Did you know him?

Kate: Yeah, I know him.

Do you know how I can get in touch with him?

Is he anywhere that I can...

Henry: I'm sorry... He died 2 years ago today, actually.

There was an accident.

Alex, I know why you didn't show up that night.

It was you at Daley Plaza that day. It was you.

Please, don't go.

Just wait, please. 
Don't look for me. Don't try to find me.

I love you.

And it's taken me all this time to say it, but I love you.

And if you still care for me, wait for me, wait with me.

Just wait.

Wait. 

Wait 2 years, Alex.

Come to the lake house.

I'm here.

~Kate's letter

*****

CONSTANTINE [2005]

Hell Wants Him
Heaven Won't Take Him
Earth Needs Him


"He who possesses the Spear of Destiny holds the fate of the world in his hands."
 The Spear of Destiny has been missing since the end of World War II.

This is Constantine.
John Constantine, asshole.
~Constantine

Dr. Leslie: 20 years ago, you didn't wanna be here. Now you don't wanna leave.
[Constantine lights his cigarette]
Yeah, that's a good idea.
John, you really need to prepare. Make arrangements.
Constantine: No need. I already know exactly where I'm going.

Beeman: So, what the action?
Constantine: I just pulled a soldier demon out of a little girl.
Looked like it was trying to come through.
Yeah, I know how it sounds.
Beeman: No, we're finger puppets to them, John, not doorways.
They can work us, but they can't come through onto our plane.
Constantine: Check the scrolls anyway. See if there's any precedent.

Gabriel: You still trying to buy your way into heaven?
Constantine: What about the minions I've sent back?
That alone should guarantee my entry.
Gabriel: How many times have I told you? That's not the way this works.
Constantine: Why, haven't I served Him enough?
What does He want from me?
Gabriel: Only the usual. Self-sacrifice, belief.
Constantine: Oh, I believe, for chrissake.
Gabriel: No, no, you know, and there's a difference. You've seen.
Constantine: I never asked to see. I was born with this curse.
Gabriel: A gift, John. One that you've squandered on selfish endeavors.
Constantine: I'm pulling demons out of little girls. Who's that for?
Gabriel: Everything you've ever done, you've only ever done for yourself.
To earn your way back into His good graces.
Constantine: Impossible rules, endless regulations, who goes up, who goes down and why.
[throw the Bible] You don't even understand us.
You're the one who should go to hell, half-breed.

Constantine: Why me, Gabriel? It's personal, isn't it?
I didn't go to church enough, I didn't pray enough, I was 5 bucks short in the collection plate. Why?
Gabriel: You are going to die young because you smoked 30 cigarettes a day since you were 15.
And you're going to go to hell because of the life you took.
You're fucked.

 Constantine: What if I told you that God and the devil made a wager, 
a kind of standing bet for the souls of all mankind?
Angela: I'd tell you to stay on your meds.
Constantine: Humor me.
No direct contact with humans. That would be the rule. Just influence. See who would win.
Angela: Okay, I'm humoring you. Why?
Constantine: Who knows. Maybe just for the fun of it. No telling.
Angela: Oh, so it's fun.
It's fun when a man beats his wife to death, when a mother drowns her baby.
And you think the devil is responsible?
People are evil, Mr. Constantine. People.
Constantine: You're right. We're born capable of terrible things.
Then sometimes something else comes along and gives us just the right nudge.
Angela: This has been real educational, but I don't believe in the devil.
Constantine: You should. He believes in you.

Constantine: When I was a kid, I can see things. 
Things humans aren't supposed to see. Things you shouldn't have to see.
My parents were normal. They did what most parents would do. They made it worse.
You think you're crazy long enough. You find your way out.
Angela: You tried to kill yourself.
Constantine: I didn't try anything.
Officially, I was dead for 2 minutes.
But when you cross over, time stops. Take it from me, 2 minutes in hell is a lifetime.
When I came back, I knew, all the things I could see were real.
Heaven and hell are right here. Behind every wall, every window.
The world behind the world, and we're smack in the middle.
Angels and demons can't cross over onto our plane.
So instead we get what I call half-breeds. The influence peddlers.
They can only whisper in our ears, but a single word can give you courage
or turn your favorite pleasure into your worst nightmare.
Those with the demon's touch, like those part angel, living alongside us.
They call it the balance.
I call it hypocritical bullshit.
So when a half-breed breaks the rules, I deport their sorry ass straight back to hell.
I don't get them all, but I've been hoping to get enough to ensure my retirement.
Angela: I don't understand.
Constantine: I'm a suicide, Angela.
When I die, the rules say I've just got one place to go.
Angela: You're trying to but your way into heaven.
Constantine: What would you do if you were sentenced to a prison
where half the inmates were put there by you?
Angela: I guess God has a plan for all of us.
Constantine: God's a kid with an ant farm, lady.
He's not planning anything.

Angela: John, there is no 17th act in Corinthians.
Constantine: Corinthians goes to 21 acts in the Bible in hell.
Angela: They have Bibles in hell.
Constantine: Paints a different view of Revelations.
Says the world will not end by God's hand, but be reborn in the embrace of the damned.
Though if you ask me, fire's fire.
Beeman, over the phone: Oh my, this is certainly not good.
"The sins of the father would only be exceeded by the sins of the son."
Angela: Whose son?
Constantine: But he can't cross over, B. Impossible to cross over.
Angela: Whose son? God's son?
Constantine: No, the other one. Devil had a son, too.
Beeman: This is the sign of Mammon, the son of the devil.
It says here, Mammon has no patience for his father's rule and yearns to forge his own kingdom of fire and blood.
Mammon would be the last demon we'd ever want crossing over to our plane.
It says first Mammon would have to possess a very, very powerful psychic.
Angela: Isabel.
Beeman: But that wouldn't be enough.
To cross over, Mammon would need divine assistance.
To cross over, Mammon would need the help of God.
Constantine: The help of God?
Beeman: John, look, I know you've never had much faith, you've never had much reason to,
but that doesn't mean that we don't have faith in you.

Constantine: You don't wanna know what's out there, trust me.
Angela: I'm stronger than Isabel.
Constantine: Your sister embraced her gift, you denied yours. Denial is a better idea.
It's why you're still alive.
Stick with me, that will change.
I don't need another ghost following me.

Angela: So, why water?
Constantine: It's a universal conduit.
Lubricates the transition from one plane to another.

Angela: Can you just kill him? What about the balance?
Constantine: Half-breed tipped the scales when he started killing my friends.
I'm just adding some counterweight.

Half-breeds are most vulnerable when their outer skin is breached by holy water.
Certain objects, most notably either of the 2 crosses of Isteria, 
have been used by even the unordained to bless commonly occurring waters, even rain.
~Chas Kramer

Constantine: And the wicked shall inherit the earth.
Gabriel: You judging me now, John?
Constantine: Betrayal, murder, genocide, call me provincial.
Gabriel: I am simply seeking to inspire mankind to all that was intended.
Constantine: By handing earth over to the son of the devil?
Help me here. 
Gabriel: You're handed this precious gift, right?
Each one of you granted redemption from the Creator.
Murderers, rapists and molesters, all of you, you just have to repent and God takes you into His bosom.
In all the worlds in all the universe, no other creature can make such a boast, save man.
It's not fair.
If sweet, sweet God loves you so, then I'll make you worthy of his love.
I've been watching you for a long time.
It's only in the face of horror that you truly find your nobler selves.
And you can be so noble.
So, I'll bring you pain. I'll bring you horror. So that you may rise above it.
So that those of you who survive this reign of hell on earth will be worthy of God's love.
Constantine: Gabriel, you're insane.

I know I'm not one of Your favorites.
I'm not even welcome in Your house.
But I could use a little attention.
Please.
~John Constantine

Lucifer: Yeah, what do you want? An extension?
Constantine: The sister, Isabel...
Lucifer: What about her?
Constantine: Let her go home.
Lucifer: You're willing to give up your life so she can go to heaven?
Fine! It's done.
Time to go, John.

*****