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(Anakin McFly:) Generally a nice guy of the sort that tend to pop up in romance films: friendly, understanding, caring and kind, but also the sort who are doomed to fairly boring lives. At least, the kind of boring lives that can be had while living in a house with a time travelling mailbox. Those things are cool. I want one.
He would probably make a good father. And his kids would probably all have more interesting lives than his.
I shall stop knocking the poor chap now.
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(LuxuriantN:) To me, Alex is living someone else's life. He is going through the motions because he hasn't yet found the direction he wants to take. Desperate not to be like the father he both respects and despises, he is resisting the path that his life seems set to follow if he does nothing to change it.
His character seems pretty selfish initially - he manages to totally disregard the obvious infatuation of his office assistant as well as the needs of an ageing father who doesnt know how to change. He also seems oblivious to the pain his brother goes through due to the distance between Alex and his father.
His attraction to Kate comes about due to her unattainability IMO. Alex is a person in longing and being unable to have her fits into his expectation of life, after all - he wants his mother back, as well as the father he thought he had as a boy (which is why the picture in the book is so painful for him - he realises that his father WAS the man he wanted him to be IMO).
The arrival of the dog begins a period of re-awakening for Alex of needs that he has supressed for years as well as the end of a period of mourning - both for his deceased mother and for the father he thought was lost to him.
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(lefty10:) When I watched The Lake House for the second time, I was more touched by the story between Alex and his father. Alex did not actually want to forgive his father although he said he had tried. He never stopped resenting his father for his ignorance of his beloved mother, especially her death. Although he still respected him and talked to him, the emotional communication was cautiously hidden. His father always loved Alex. Even though a gap was hard to come across, they shared the same strong loving for architecture and the same incredible talent. I even feel the father loved Alex more than Henry because Alex was more like him. But his father was much more aggressive in personality. Career was placed ahead of family in his heart. He did not show emotions easily. Alex knew but refused to accept it.
When the father had a heart attack and stayed in the hospital, he was still passionate about the architecture. When Alex answered the question about lighting and building, he showed obvious appreciation and was very proud. He was excited to talk about his life-long understanding of architecture and nature. At the moment, Alex was willing to look at his father with a different perspective. When he received the book from Kate and saw the old picture of father and son, he finally understood his father and was motivated to grasp a chance for his love with Kate.
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(Alejandro Agresti [director]:) He’s trying to go beyond things that his father has predetermined for him, in life and in his profession.
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(stellala:) Alex is less a three-dimensional character than the ideal lover. He is beautiful, sensitive, talented, smart, sensual, financially secure, and faithful. He falls in love after a series of letters, a single dance and a kiss. He is faithful to the kiss: he waits four years for Kate, and he'd probably wait forever. He has the required prestigious but difficult background, as he's had his Kerouac days and horrific family problems. His dad, however, is a world-famous architect and Alex and his brother eventually move into a posh office in Chicago. A good match for Kate the physician. A good match for anyone.
So...he's pretty, sensitive, talented, and well-to-do and absolutely faithful. What more can any woman want?
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