Message in a Bottle

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks, Message In A Bottle stars Robin Wright Penn as Theresa Osborne, a writer for the Chicago Tribune. While her son visits her cheating ex-husband, Theresa goes on a vacation by herself. One day, while running on the beach, she finds a bottle washed up on the shore. She opens it and inside finds a love letter unlike any she's ever read. Captivated by the author's words of love, she returns to her job at the Tribune where she convinces her boss to run an article about the mystery writer, known only as "G." He approves, and Theresa begins her hunt. Scrutinizing every physical detail of the letter and the path the bottle may have taken, she eventually locates Garret Blake (Kevin Costner), a North Carolina boat-restorer who has not been the same since the tragic death of his beloved wife Catherine. Since her death, Garret has written several letters to his dead wife, put them in a bottles, and let them loose in the sea. As Theresa spends time with Garret, she quickly falls in love with him, though she neglects to tell him she knows about the letters. Garret, prodded by his cantankerous, no-nonsense dad, Dodge (Paul Newman), emerges from his shell of grief and develops an interest in Theresa as well. Theresa returns to Chicago and Garret soon visits her; he meets her son, Jason (Jesse James), but also discovers her knowledge of the letters. Eventually the two, who have both lost love, must cast off their emotional baggage and decide if they will pursue love even if it can't always last. ~ Ron Wells, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Features:
  • cc
  • Additional scenes
  • Commentary by director Luis Mandoki and producer Denise Di Novi
  • 5 special effects featurettes
  • Filmographies
  • Theatrical trailer

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Kevin Costner - Garret Blake
       Robin Wright Penn - Theresa Osborne
       Paul Newman - Dodge Blake
       John Savage - Johnny Land
       Illeana Douglas - Lina Paul
       Robbie Coltrane - Charlie Toschi
       Jesse James - Jason Osborne
       Bethel Leslie - Mara Land
       Tom Aldredge - Hank Land
       Viveka Davis - Alva
       Raphael Sbarge - Andy
       Richard Hamilton - Chet
       Rosemary Murphy - Helen At The B&B
       Steven Eckholdt - David

• Director:

  Luis Mandoki

• Producer:

  Kevin Costner, Jim Wilson, Denise Di Novi

• Screenwriter:

  Gerald Di Pego

• Book Author:

  Nicholas Sparks

• Cinematographer:

  Caleb Deschanel

• Composer (Music Score):

  Gabriel Yared

• Editor:

  Steve Weisberg

• Production Designer:

  Jeffrey Beecroft

• Art Director:

  Mark Zuelzke, Steve Saklad

• Associate Producer:

  Leslie Weisberg

• Set Designer:

  Dorree Cooper, Nancy Deren, Elaine O'Donnell, Masako Masuda, Andrea Dopaso, Mike Cukers

• Costume Designer:

  Bernie Pollack

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  Jose Antonio Garcia

• First Assistant Director:

  Bruce G. Moriarty

• Casting:

  Cathy Sandrich, Amanda Mackey-Johnson

• Second Unit Director:

  Gary Capo

REVIEW:

• There's a lot to like in this film from director Luis Mandoki, including a terrific, underrated performance by supporting player Paul Newman, decent production values, and two leads who seem to genuinely like each other -- no small plus in a doomed romance. The film's chief stumbling block is that the source material from Nicholas Sparks and subsequent script adaptation from Gerald Di Pego make the blooming attraction between protagonists Kevin Costner and Robin Wright Penn seem so predestined, so utterly fated, that the second-act conflicts that arise to keep them temporarily apart feel phony. After a great setup that rivals that of Sleepless in Seattle (1993), it's a letdown when petty concerns over how they met and letting go of the past come between two lovers who have been cast as a modern-day Orpheus and Eurydice. Still, Newman gives one of his great, gruff star turns here and John Savage, wasted in a bit part that is interesting enough to have been more substantial, does some yeoman-like supporting work, diverting attention away from the contrived nature of much of the film's middle portion. Message in a Bottle comes back around again in the end, with an ending that, while not exactly leaving the audience with the feeling that anything has been learned or gained that made the trip worthwhile for the film's surviving hero, also must be given credit for surprisingly not copping out with a typical Hollywood ending. Still, the film's central romance could have used some of the earthy, realistic touch of Mandoki's previous excellent relationship drama, White Palace (1990). ~ Karl Williams, Rovi