RomanceDrama

Message in a Bottle

- A story of love lost and found.

A woman finds a romantic letter in a bottle washed ashore and tracks down the author, a widowed shipbuilder whose wife died tragically early. As a deep and mutual attraction blossoms, the man struggles to make peace with his past so that he can move on and find happiness.

Release Date : 1999-02-22

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Warner Bros. PicturesBel Air EntertainmentTig ProductionsDi Novi Pictures

Production Country : United States of America

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : Garrett Blake

Original Name : Kevin Costner

Gender : Male

Character Name : Theresa Osborne

Original Name : Robin Wright

Gender : Female

Character Name : Dodge Blake

Original Name : Paul Newman

Gender : Male

Character Name : Johnny Land

Original Name : John Savage

Gender : Male

Character Name : Lina Paul

Original Name : Illeana Douglas

Gender : Female

Character Name : Charlie Toschi

Original Name : Robbie Coltrane

Gender : Male

Character Name : Jason Osborne

Original Name : Jesse James

Gender : Male

Character Name : Marta Land

Original Name : Bethel Leslie

Gender : Female

Character Name : Hank Land

Original Name : Tom Aldredge

Gender : Male

Character Name : Alva

Original Name : Viveka Davis

Gender : Female

Character Name : Andy

Original Name : Raphael Sbarge

Gender : Male

Character Name : Helen at the B&B

Original Name : Rosemary Murphy

Gender : Female

Character Name : David Osborne

Original Name : Steven Eckholdt

Gender : Male

Character Name : Catherine Land Blake

Original Name : Susan Brightbill

Gender : Female

Character Name : Helicopter Pilot #1

Original Name : David Paris

Gender : Male

Character Name : Annie

Original Name : Patricia Belcher

Gender : Female

Character Name : Christine

Original Name : Elizabeth Guindi

Gender : Female

Character Name : Woman on Sinking Boat

Original Name : Jennifer Lamb

Gender : Female

Character Name : Girl on Sinking Boat

Original Name : Hayden Panettiere

Gender : Female

Character Name : Chet

Original Name : Richard Hamilton

Gender : Male

Character Name : Pete The Cop

Original Name : Walt MacPherson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Man On Sinking Boat

Original Name : Lance Gilbert

Gender : Male

Character Name : Office Worker#2

Original Name : Norman Fessler

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mail Boy

Original Name : Mauricio Ochmann

Gender : Male

Reviews

Wuchak

@Wuchak

2021-06-23

_**Enjoyable, but contrived, love story with some very puzzling questions**_ While on vacation in the Northeast a researcher for the Chicago Tribune (Robin Wright Penn) finds a romantic message in a bottle that is truly moving. After her editor prints the letter it becomes a hit and she travels to North Carolina to find the man who wrote the message (Keven Costner). Paul Newman is on hand as the latter’s father while John Savage plays his angry brother-in-law. "Message in a Bottle" (1999) is an entertaining drama/romance with quality actors and East Coast locations. Unfortunately, parts of the contrived plot are too much of a stretch and some seriously perplexing questions are raised that I can’t detail without spoiling the movie for first-time viewers. Write me and I’ll share them with you. Thankfully, there’s too much good to write the movie off as worthless. For instance, there’s a well-done subplot that has to do with manly antagonism and reconciliation. The average male has too much machismo to voice sappy apologies, but they clearly apologize & reconcile in less direct ways. Just read between the lines. When Theresa asks Garrett, "Will you come and visit me,'' Roger Ebert complained about the (supposed) lousy writing of the latter’s response: "You mean, inland?'' I guess he failed to notice that Garrett had a smirk on his face and was playing with Theresa wherein she giggled. Some people complain that the film was shot in Maine while the story takes place in The Outer Banks, North Carolina, which looks nothing like Maine and insults the intelligence of the viewer. In the producers’ defense, they tried to shoot in a couple places further south, but couldn’t get permits and so had to settle for Maine (Bath, New Harbor, Phippsburg & Portland). Yet the coastal scenery isn’t much of a focus, so it’s not that big of a deal. If it really bugs you, just imagine that Garrett throws the bottles into the ocean in Maine and Theresa finds the initial message while vacationing in Nova Scotia; problem solved. The film runs 2 hours, 6 minutes, and was shot in Maine and Chicago, plus some stuff done at Falls Lake, Backlot, Universal Studios, Southern Cal. GRADE: C