Sandra Bullock must have done something particularly bad to earn the Sisyphean purgatory that seems to have engulfed her film career. In “Premonition,” out today, she must once again race against time to stop some sort of vehicular manslaughter taking the life of her true love. At least this one doesn’t involve a bus.

Ms. Bullock became an American sweetheart by kissing Keanu Reeves on a hurtling bus in 1994’s “Speed,” tried to save Jason Patric from the drowning Titanic of “Speed II: Cruise Control,” and met Ben Affleck in a plane crash in “Forces of Nature.” Now, on the heels of last year’s “The Lake House,” in which she used a magical mailbox to cheat time and save Mr. Reeves from another public transportation splattering, Ms. Bullock continues her flirtation with the time-space continuum in “Premonition.” Here, she learns that her husband dies in car accident both before and after it happens, but can’t quite decide if he’s worth saving.

“Premonition” also shares with “The Lake House” some glaring inconsistencies, a painful aimlessness, and the sizable hurdle of a laughable premise. The filmmakers don’t seem to understand what a premonition is, as Ms. Bullock’s character suffers from something more akin to déjà vu — but Denzel Washington already released that movie. Director Mennan Yapo seems to think he can prevent viewers from noticing these minor details by distracting them with jarring music and Ms. Bullock’s enviable tresses.

Ms. Bullock plays happy housewife Linda Hanson, who doesn’t just envision future events, she lives some days before they happen and others afterward. On this particular morning, Linda wakes up to learn that her husband, Jim (Julian McMahon), has been killed in a car accident. Just as she begins to absorb the news, she goes to sleep and wakes up two days earlier to learn that he is fine. It takes a few days of waking up to different scenarios for Linda to realize that she is living the days of this week out of order.

When Jim appears, seemingly unharmed, it comes as little surprise that their seemingly perfect marriage has cracks. For starters, he is wearing a short sleeve buttondown shirt. Although this purportedly perfect man is trying out a workplace affair with Claire (former model Amber Valletta), we eventually learn that he is a car salesman, leaving us with another pressing riddle to solve: Has Ms. Bullock been married off to Joey Buttafuoco?

It’s hard to tell, as Mr. McMahon is not given much screen time to develop a personality. Mr. Yapo is too busy convoluting the plotline to bother. Instead, we’re convinced that Linda is a good wife and mother. But maybe she almost killed one of her daughters. And if Jim is an adulterer, his life might not be worth saving anyhow. Also, that mother of Linda’s (Kate Nelligan) — she may look nice, but she could be evil. Or maybe it’s Linda who’s possessed.

“Premonition” seems set on utilizing every trope from the cinematic psychodrama playbook. There are shower scenes, a dead crow decomposing, an electrical shower, child-actor abuse, and a shifty psychiatrist. And of course, Linda spends some time strapped down in a mental ward, just for kicks. But Hitchcock this is not.

Ms. Bullock for the most part manages to keep things moving along, but the erratic camera work during dramatic scenes make it impossible to tell what she’s doing half the time.

When the plot starts to sag, the soundtrack jumps in with aggressive attempts to increase the tension. As Linda goes about her daily routine and/or fears for her life, the music leads to its screeching denouement again and again. While Linda passively goes about her day, will she unveil Jim peacefully taking his morning shower, the head of his corpse rolling out of the coffin, or will that striped sweater finally get mixed in with the whites on her next wash? We. Just. Don’t. Know.

And neither does Mr. Yapo. But who needs plot resolutions when you can have a priest spout empty platitudes?

Maybe after this one, Ms. Bullock will have paid her penance. Or maybe the continuing “Miss Congeniality” sequels are proof that her crimes are worse than they seem.

mkeane@nysun.com