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poster of Message in a Bottle
Rating: 6.3/10 by 762 users

Message in a Bottle (1999)

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.

Directing:
  • Luis Mandoki
Writing:
  • Gerald Di Pego
  • Nicholas Sparks
  • Nicholas Sparks
Stars:
Release Date: Mon, Feb 22, 1999

Rating: 6.3/10 by 762 users

Alternative Title:
Message in a Bottle - Der Beginn einer großen Liebe - DE
Mensaje de amor - AR
Mensaje de amor - MX

Country:
United States of America
Language:
English
Runtime: 02 hour 11 minutes
Budget: $80,000,000
Revenue: $118,880,016

Plot Keyword: sailboat, anonymous letter, sailing, love letter, bottle, cape cod, message in a bottle

Kevin Costner
Garrett Blake
Robin Wright
Theresa Osborne
Paul Newman
Dodge Blake
John Savage
Johnny Land
Robbie Coltrane
Charlie Toschi
Jesse James
Jason Osborne
Rosemary Murphy
Helen at the B&B
Steven Eckholdt
David Osborne
Susan Brightbill
Catherine Land Blake
David Paris
Helicopter Pilot #1
Jennifer Lamb
Woman on Sinking Boat
Hayden Panettiere
Girl on Sinking Boat
Walt MacPherson
Pete The Cop
Lance Gilbert
Man On Sinking Boat
Norman Fessler
Office Worker#2

Wuchak

_**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


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