Rating: 

The Info

Directed by: Luis Mandoki
Written by: Gerald Di Pego (novel by Nicholas Sparks)
Starring: Kevin Costner, Robin Wright Penn, Paul Newman, John Savage, Illeana Douglas, Robbie Coltrane
Produced by: Kevin Costner, Denise Di Novi, Jim Wilson

The Nutshell

A researcher for the Chicago Tribune finds a message in a bottle, and is so touched by its power that she decides to track down the writer.

The Review

    Message In A Bottle is a bit like Sleepless in Seattle, but on a boat. You've got the sorrowful husband whose wife passed away, the lonely woman who finds the words of the husband utterly endearing, and the promise of a romantic union between the two. Instead of Tom Hanks' mushy ode to his dead wife on a late night talk radio show, we've got Kevin Costner's mushy writings inside of a bottle on the beach. This, however, is where the big similarities in the story end. Where Sleepless is a fabulous pairing of two of America's most loveable stars in a well-written, hip, emotional tearjerker, Message is a plodding attempt to make Kevin Costner a bankable romantic lead again. It contains numerous formulaic moments of cinema that you see coming a mile away, yet combines great acting and an inspired ending to become an average romantic picture.

   Theresa Osborne (Wright Penn) is a lonely divorcee with a young son who one day finds a bottle embedded in the beach. Inside she finds a heart-wrenching letter to a lost love that moves her immensely. So immensely that she takes it to work and reads it to her co-workers and her boss Charlie (Coltrane). Charlie publishes it in the next issue of the Chicago newspaper he runs. Soon a flood of letters pours in to the paper's office, including another letter written by the mystery man. Theresa decides to track down the author, to meet the man whose words could touch her so deeply.

    The author, Garret Blake (Costner) restores boats in a Maine harbour, leading a life solitary except for his father Dodge (Newman). His wife Catherine passed away of an unnamed sickness two years earlier, causing friction between her family and Garret. Much of the story is obvious and simple, especially a sub-plot about some pictures of Catherine's at Garret's house. Garret and Theresa meet and unexpectedly start falling in love. As they get closer and closer together, you just know that eventually he is going to find out that she has his letters, and that they were published. They will fight, part, and probably make up again in the end. Along the way, Dodge makes a lot of humourous "old-man" comments and grumbles, Costner tries to be a romantic lead, and Wright Penn reminds us of why she should be a bigger star than she is. The film is well cast, with the leads managing to create some genuine divorcee awkwardness, "I don't really know what to say, and neither do you." says Theresa at one point. The actors make the most of their poorly written material, emoting some strong emotions. Fans of romance films will surely shed many a tear during the course of this film, as it is geared with maximum tear shedding in mind. Moments such as a marshmallow fight would seem out of place in other genres, yet fit the film's feel well. If you loved Sleepless in Seattle, you will like Message In A Bottle. Just be prepared to be there awhile; this film seems like it takes ten years to finish. For the rest of us, skipping this film is a good idea.

Copyright - Tim Chandler

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