Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, Christopher Plummer, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Dylan Walsh, Ebon Moss-Bachrach. Directed by Alejandro Agresti

Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves reunite for the first time since their hellish 1994 bus ride, Speed, in this time-travelling romance that succeeds in spite of its loopy, illogical premise and drizzles of emotional syrup.

The Lake House is a remake of a South Korean romance called Siworae (Il Mare), which revolves around two strangers who fall in love across space and time.

Impossible physics don't trouble screenwriter David Auburn - he simply avoids rational explanations, including making sense of the presence of the same dog in parallel timelines.

Director Alejandro Agresti relies heavily on the natural charm and likeability of his leads - two actors who are frequently much better than their material - especially since their star-crossed characters must be kept apart for almost the entire film.

On a fresh winter's morning, doctor Kate Forster (Bullock) moves out of her beautiful lakeside property to take up her residency at a busy Chicago hospital.

She leaves behind a note for the next tenant in the mailbox, welcoming them to the house and apologising for the paw prints by the front door.

New resident Alex Wyler (Reeves), a brilliant architect estranged from his domineering father Simon (Plummer), ignores the note: The lake house has been unoccupied for years and there are no paw prints.

A few days later, when a stray dog runs through paint leaving behind the paw prints just as Kate said, Alex is astounded and he leaves a bemused reply in the same mailbox.

Kate collects his letter and is convinced that she is the victim of a prank.

The strangers exchange a series of missives, until they stumble upon a jaw-dropping fact: Kate is living in 2006 while Alex is alive and well in 2004.

Somehow, they are living exactly two years apart, separated by some strange kink in time.

With the lake house's mailbox as their only connection, Alex and Kate struggle to make sense of the astonishing disparity. Friendship, forged through their correspondence, gradually blossoms into romance and Kate and Alex look for some way to bridge present and past so that they can look forward to a blissful future together.

However, events in Alex's reality have a ripple effect for Kate.

Once you ignore the obvious holes in the premise, and the occasional abandonment of common sense for the sake of keeping Alex and Kate apart that little bit longer, The Lake House is quite a charming affair.

Admittedly, some of the dialogue verges on the florid and the twist is signposted far too early, but Agresti's film casts a spell.

Bullock tempers her usual perkiness with an air of sadness and desperation while Reeves brings steeliness to his prodigal son, including a moving breakdown scene complete with real tears.

The denouement is a little hurried but since the rest of the film plays loose and fast with time, why should the closing minutes be any different?