Message in a Bottle Review
by Christian Pyle (tlcclp AT aol DOT com)February 25th, 1999
Message in a Bottle (1999)
A Review by Christian Pyle
Robin Wright Penn recently denounced the script for her new movie, "Message in a Bottle," as being too "in-your-face and precious." She's right-the script is a manipulative hanky-puller painted by the numbers, but it is redeemed by guileless performances and an ending that departs from the simplistic themes that, up to then, it seems to pursue.
The plot's a sentimental romance with syrupy overtones: On vacation, Theresa Osborne (Penn) finds a bottle on a beach. Inside is a type-written note from "G." to a departed love, Catherine. The note testifies to the sensitivity and depth of feeling of "G.," and Theresa, divorced and lonely, begins a quest to find the note's author. Her boss (Robbie Coltrane), a "Chicago Tribune" columnist, publishes the letter, and two other letters are revealed.
The clues in the letters lead Theresa to the Outer Banks of North Carolina and boat-restorer Garret Blake (Kevin Costner). His wife Catherine died two years earlier, and Garret has lived in limbo ever since. Theresa, of course, lies to Garret about why she's there (setting the stage for the inevitable "girl-loses-boy" development when he finds out the truth), but they soothe each other's wounds of lost love. Romance blooms.
Both Theresa and Garret abandoned their dreams when they lost their spouses. She dreamed of being a writer; he intended to build his own boats. Predictably, each inspires the other to begin writing/building again. Up to the end, the message in this bottle seems clear: move on after loss, learn to live and love again. I won't divulge the ending, of course, but it undercuts the predictable themes developed up to then. It led me to rethink my assumptions about the movie and its subject matter.
This is the sort of movie that has to sell itself to the audience. I was willing to buy into it because the performances were open and honest. Both Penn and Costner seem quite earnest and genuine in their roles, which is a surprising turn for Costner, who usually alternates between his "Eliot Ness" and "Crash Davis" personas. Paul Newman, who plays Garret's dad, Dodge Blake, is a national treasure. He's never given a bad performance or put forth less than a full effort. Even in a small supporting role, Newman shines. By the time it was over, I found myself caring most about Dodge, a cranky recovering alcoholic who dotes on his son.
The familiar plot of "Message in a Bottle" shatters easily with slightest application of cynicism or even realism, but its cast puts forth an admirable effort to defuse those reactions.
Grade: B-
© 1999 Christian L. Pyle
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