Product Description

Grieving widower Garret Blake builds boats for a living. Rebuilding his life-that's another matter. But that's before Theresa Osborne comes to his North Carolina village. Theresa a lonely divorcee and researcher for the Chicago Tribune knows that Garret is the author of the message she found inside a bottle on a Cape Code beach. And she knows the message spoke to her in away that profoundly touched her heart. Kevin Costner as Garret and Robin Wright Penn as Theresa bring high-voltage starpower to Message in a Bottle a tale of love lost and found based on Nicholas Sparks' bestseller and directed by Luis Mandoki (White Palace When a Man Loves a Woman). "You choose-the paste or the future. Pick one and stick with it" Garret's spry father Dodge (Paul Newman) advises. The advice sticks. So does the impact of this tender movingly filmed tale.Running Time: 132 min.System Requirements:Starring: Kevin Costner Robin Wright Penn Paul Newman Robbie Coltrane Illeana Douglas and John Savage. Directed By: Luis Mandoki Running Time: 2 hrs. 11 mins. This film is presented in "Widescreen" format. Copyright 1999 Warner Home VideoFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: PG-13 UPC: 085391698920

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3426 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 1999-08-03
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 131 minutes

Amazon.com
If, as they say, you're in a certain mood, Message in a Bottle can be just the ticket. Based on Nicholas Sparks's bestselling novel, this handsome but overly calculated romance tale stars Robin Wright Penn as Theresa, a Chicago Tribune researcher who finds a note encased in a green bottle that has floated onto a Cape Cod shore. The message within is a heartfelt, yearning declaration of love to a woman named Catherine, but the author is unknown until Theresa (rather improbably) tracks him down in North Carolina. He's Garret Blake (Kevin Costner), a taciturn builder of sailboats and a grieving widower whose late wife, poetically speaking, was the intended recipient of the seafaring note Theresa found. Theresa, a divorcée with a son, decides to meet Garret, only to find him as bottled-up as his message. Nevertheless, a romance blooms on the strength of quality time in a sailboat and lots of cuddling, though the script tosses in bits of conflict to keep their relationship spicy. Directed by Luis Mandoki (When a Man Loves a Woman), this love story is entirely by the numbers, with Costner inhabiting (rather than performing) a stock fantasy of a man perfect in every way save his broken heart. Penn brings more vibrancy to her equally predictable part, but fortunately for all, Paul Newman, John Savage, Robbie Coltrane, and Illeana Douglas are on hand in nicely textured character parts. Sometimes predictability is exactly what one wants when settling in for an evening of home video, and this movie fits the bill nicely. The appealing cinematography is by ace cameraman Caleb Deschanel. --Tom Keogh

From The New Yorker
Slop made respectable by the application of sombre good taste. Robin Wright Penn is a lonely Chicago newspaperwoman who, on a Cape Cod beach, picks up a bottle containing a letter in which a man apologizes fervently to his wife for not taking better care of her. It seems that this mournful-moony romantic is dotting the seven seas with his remorse. Wright Penn searches for him, and he turns out to be Kevin Costner, widowed and in retreat-withdrawn, surly, but shining with inner nobility. They commence a nuzzling, tepid affair that consists of much leaning against driftwood around campfires-they could be the impersonally handsome models in an ad for expensive sweaters. The director, Luis Mandoki, working from a dreadful best-seller by Nicholas Sparks, has entered the land of "women's films," but his picture lacks the emotional volatility and intelligence of work by such predecessors as King Vidor and Michael Curtiz. This movie is merely glum. As Wright Penn flutters nervously, Costner gives her nothing, letting her die on the vine. It's an extremely ungallant performance. With Paul Newman and Illeana Douglas. -David Denby
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Ocean waves and gorgeous sceneries surround this unique and refreshing love story...
"Message in the Bottle" is, like the tag-line suggests, a tale of love lost and found. The way I was introduced to this film is rather interesting, I suppose. Many years ago I came across it when I was searching online for information regarding the 1977 classic Disney film "The Rescuers." Both films share the theme of the "message in the bottle" so the connection lead me to this 1999 film. Finally, I saw it for sale in a grocery store's bargain DVD bin and just had to bring it home with me, so I did. I could not have been more pleased. The film is touching in many ways, beautifully filmed, with fantastic characters and great acting. It's a refreshing tale of love that does leave a bittersweet impact, and probably will not be forgotten easily. It is also interesting that I found this film so captivating, because romance tales have never really been of interest to me. Emily Brontë's novel, "Wuthering Heights," was the first time I felt interested in a story of love, enough to keep me reading, very intrigued, through its hundreds of pages. "Message in a Bottle" did the same thing, it intrigued me. The gorgeously filmed sceneries automatically appealed to me; sights of lighthouses, docks and ships, ships out at sea, ocean waves, beautiful sunsets... not to forget the message in the bottle. To me it was like watching one of Thomas Kinkade's paintings come to life right before my eyes; the sceneries in this film are that beautiful.

This is the story of a young woman named Theresa, who works for the Chicago Tribune. She and her ex-husband had recently divorced and the two exchanged the time they would spend with their one son. One day, during a visit to the shore, Theresa finds a simple bottle stranded on the sand and discovers inside it a message from a mysterious man addressed to a certain "Dear Catherine." Theresa is touched by the profound love expressed by this person to their beloved, deceased wife, and so are her friends at work when they read it. Theresa is not happy when her friends at the Chicago Tribune decide to publish the message in their newspaper, for she believes the person had meant the message to be personal and private. Still, Theresa becomes intrigued with this man and longs to find him. With a crew of investigators, she uses every clue she has, including a second and third message, to track down the author of these messages. Her investigation leads her to a seaside town in North Carolina and a certain G. Blake. She has high expectations of this man and quickly sets out to find him. When she finally does, her expectations are exceeded, and she rapidly falls in love with grieving, timid Garret Blake. She discovers the story behind his wife's death and the rivalry the event left behind for two different family's, Garret's and Catherine's. Garret is unwilling to let go of the past and wants to conserve every memory he has of his deceased wife. That is, until he himself slowly finds himself falling in love with Theresa. The story then changes into one of trust, honesty and understanding, as well as a story of letting go of the past and looking forward, allowing a past life to live only in memories. Both characters struggle within themselves to find their right paths, until the story finally changes back to one of bravery and loss.

All in all, a very profound, believable and touching love story. The characters, including Paul Newman as Dodge, Garret's father, are all strong, believable, unique and highly appealing. They're dynamic, they change and grow in one way or another, and that applies to a number of minor characters as well. The story feels like a classic tale of love set in modern times. This doesn't affect the impact of the tale, however, because like I said, the sceneries in this film create on their own a sense of enchanting magic that surrounds the action and the characters. I half-wish that some of the more adult-oriented scenes and language had been left out, thus making this film more appropriate for younger audiences. The film is a perfect love story, refreshing and unique, and why should we not be allowed to experience it when we're younger? Again, this film is beautiful and I'm delighted to have it in my collection. I must say I was shocked at the number of negative reviews this film has received, ranging from bad to mediocre. I guess in the age of dumb comedy and pessimistic disaster films, people are just not yet ready to experience a well told story of life. I never, or very rarely, let others' opinions on a film alter my own views on it, so I give this film nine stars out of ten, which in my book, is excellent!

Fabulous Movie....
... but only if you are deaf. Seriously. This movie is visually gorgeous. That's about it. The actual message found in the bottle should be enough to make you go right to mute. Then, if you are not deaf, maybe put on some Chopin Nocturns and enjoy 2 hours of beautiful cinematography.

message in a bottle
THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST MOVIES I'VE SEEN IN ALONG TIME. PERSONS WHO HAVE LOST LOVE ONES REALLY NEED TO WATCH THIS. KEVIN COSTNER IS ONE OF THE BEST ACTORS WE HAVE,