slightlymad22
Continuing my plan to watch every Kevin Costner movie in order, I come to 1999's Message In A Bottle.Plot In A Paragraph: Theresa (Robin Wright Penn) finds a romantic letter in a bottle washed ashore and tracks down the author, a widowed shipbuilder (KC) whose wife died tragically early. As the two grow closer, the man struggles to make peace with his past so that he can move on and find happiness.Following a public mauling, KC took 1998 off. For the first time since 1986, KC did not have a movie out in cinemas. Returning with Message In A Bottle was a good career move for KC, it's based on a best selling novel, it has a solid (if slightly predictable) story, great dialogue, it is beautifully shot and has good performances. OK it's a chick flick, but it's one of the better ones.But for me, KC is not at his best, I know he is meant to be moody and melancholy, but for me he mostly comes off as subdued. In contrast Robin Wright Penn gives my favourite performance of her career and Paul Newman simply owns every scene he is in, and I believe he should have been nominated for an Oscar. I remember one review I can't recall who, maybe Barry Norman, saying "Newman not only steals every scene he's in, but he puts it in the bank and gets interest on it." It made me laugh. I remember buying the book before seeing the movie, and there were some considerable differences, including the amount of notes sent and the ending.
Lars Lendale
Why, Paul Newman and Kevin Costner ? Why ? This movie is plot less, is the classic chick flick with no story, just constant cheesy maudlin soundtrack in the background for every single line. The story is half developed, the ending lazy, incomprehensible, you're not sure exactly what the message in a bottle holds any meaning.Some many cliché, the dead wife in an plane crash, the feud between the two families, the boss that is super nice and friendly, two people that fall in love in a span of one date. I don't understand how two great actors could have agreed, and it wasn't for a great pay, to star in such a bland picture.
Ali Tataroglu
The first time I saw this movie was about four years ago in the midnight at home. From then maybe I have watched ten times but never got bored or press forward button.It is a modern but at same time old love story between two lovely people. They live in their own worlds till the girl 'Teresa' (Robin Wright) finds a bottle by the seaside. From the first scene till the end I could not leave my eyes on her. Then I recognized I had seen her before from 'Forest Gump' and 'Last Castle' even she had just a little role in it. Anyway in this movie especially with the dress she wore at Garret's house (Kevin Costner) she was awesome, gorgeous. The house of Garret was so wonderful, a dream house. It is a home near the seaside. You may even listen the sound of waves from the kitchen. I won't tell so much about script of the movie. I am simply someone who is so affected of this movie. The sea, the waves, the yacht, the house, the girl...
phd_travel
This movie is the most boring of all the Sparks big screen adaptations. It lacks chemistry between the leads and just isn't romantic. This is no Notebook.Kevin Costner looks too over the hill. Robin Wright is pretty here but she doesn't seem to connect with Costner's character. Even Paul Newman is out of place too much stature for the role.The ending is an anticlimax. The drama with the in laws is contrived. In most other Sparks stories you feel something for the main protagonists even if the sentimentality can be a bit clichéd and obvious. But here it just left me completely cold and unmoved.What a total yawn.
AD
