Mensaje en una botella

How private is a message set afloat in a bottle? Not at all, according to this film. Finders keepers, and if it makes a good story, publish it on the front page of the daily press. Garret (Kevin Costner) loves Catherine beyond the grave, and being a boat-builder, with the sea at his doorstep, he sends messages to her in a sealed bottle. Theresa (Robin Wright Penn) relaxing by the sea finds a bottle protruding from the wet sand and is much impressed by the expressions of love in the romantic message. As a newspaper researcher she seeks out the author and predictably they fall in love. I think this film would largely appeal to women. The dialogue and the romantic situations are believable as the story slowly but steadily unfolds. The photography of the seascapes and sunsets is very appealing and the background music suitably romantic and never obtrusive. The acting throughout is very controlled. The shy Garret devoted to the memory of Catherine slowly changes as this new woman enters his life. Theresa still suffering from a broken marriage and still uncertain of her future is beautifully played as the message continues to weave its spell. Garret's crotchety old father is played with all stops out by Paul Newman - a rascally fellow with firm ideas about what is good for his son. There are a few noisy scenes in the film, and necessary, I think, because the overall tenor of the film is somewhat subdued with the two shy central characters. Not a great film by any means , but the story has a certain charm. I am sure we would all like to find a message in a bottle - much more exciting than receiving an E-mail - and I guaratee that, human nature being what it is, we'd read it too.

I can imagine liking this film a lot more than I did if the screenplay was given another pass. Sure the overall film is a melodrama built on cliches but Costner, Penn work well together. The overall vibe of the film is pretty much what you would expect. Newman is especially endearing as the crusty father figure. The ocean side scenery is quite nice for escapist fluff. Unfortunately, the final plotting is *terrible.*

The climax as not real connection-in terms of characters or ideas present in the story-to anything that occurs prior to it. It is likea duex ex machina only that it randomly complicates the plot instead of resolves it. It feels so very forced; a mere mechanical device to stick the story with a downer of an ending. This could have been something more.

MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE (1999) ***

Starring: Kevin Costner, Robin Wright Penn, Paul Newman, Ileana Douglas, Jesse James Director: Luis Mandoki 126 minutes Rated PG-13 (for sexuality)

By Blake French:

What do you do when somebody asks you a question? Well, if you're like any normal person, you'd answer it. How do you form romantic chemistry between two characters in a movie? If there isn't already dramatic fire when you look at two characters, then you have to form it will dialogue.

In the new romantic drama "Message in a Bottle," all that the two main love birds do is ask each other and respond to questions. They meet when a Chicago newspaper worker named Theresa finds a bottled up note on the shore while jogging. She becomes curious as her friends find more evidence leading to this man that she deeply wants to meet. When she does meet him, a boat worker named Garret Blake, (hey, Blake is my first name, isn't that neat) romantic music instantly surrounds them. And the questioning begins.

Theresa asks Garret many questions, but all Mr. Blake does is answer. Is that a bad thing? Not really, but when a movie is trying to form romance chemistry, well, this is not the way to do it. The only character who seems to be at all alive here is Paul Newman, as Blake's father, who masters every scene he is in.

The scenery in "Message in a Bottle" is absolutely stunning. From the busy landscape of Chicago to the blue sea waters and crystal clear waves. This kind of material sweeps me away every time I see it in the movies. I would compare this film to the beautiful Montana countryside's in "The Horse Whisperer," one of the best movies of 1998.

The performances in this film are mostly quite good, but none are Academy Award material. Robin Wright Penn is realistic and well-casted. She uses confusion and sorrow to build up momentum for the Costner character. As for Costner himself, however, he is surprisingly bad. I mean, just recovering over last year's "The Postman," this man should be rebuilding his career, not destroying it even more. He gives another "Waterworld" type of performance, acting dumfounded throughout most of the film. It's Paul Newman who is the real surprise. He adds comic relief from all the ineffective melodrama which permits most of the movie.

The characters themselves are indeed likeable. Some are a bit stubborn and bull-headed, others are freewheeling and care-free. This is okay because variety is good, you know. I liked Newman the most, but Robin Wright Penn is right up there with him.

A major flaw in the film, however, is the ending, which is completely out of place and disappointing. I have nothing against this type of closing, but I have already seen this in material in last years "City of Angels," sorry if that gives anything away. It leaves the audience with a feeling of depression and disappointment as they walk out of the theater.

In the end, "Message in a Bottle" is a close call, but I do recommend it. Thanks to some attractive features, original screenplay based on a Nicholas Sparks novel, and some fascinating characters, Luis Mandoki has created a satisfactory movie that I did enjoy for most of the way.

Brought to you by Warner Bros.

The pace is set from the opening scene: the ocean with its consistent but gentle force splashing against the shore. `Message in a Bottle' follows this leisurely pace; it is not in a real hurry to give up all its secrets, but like the ocean, will surrender all in good time. So relax, and allow yourself to enjoy!

Paul Newman (Dodge Blake) and Kevin Costner (Garrett Blake) both deliver strong performances as father and son, initially content, though not really happy in their current existence. Both have lost their love, for one reason or another, and are each other's companion and support. Newman gets the fun punch lines, Costner gets the woman. `If I were about 150 years younger' starts one of Newman's lines – it must be different for him not to play the leading role. Costner seems right at home playing a ship-building sailor who is lost because of his lost love.

Robin Wright (Theresa Osborne) is equally strong, playing an independent and patient reporter, who follows her heart, and decides to find the author of the love letters from the ocean. She gives Garrett distance gently when he needs it, yet pushes back equally hard when she needs to.

Much of the acting relied not so much on the delivery of lines, as on the body language, on looks, on the strained silence between a couple who is unsure of each other, often unsure of themselves, yet strongly attracted to each other.

Both Garrett and Theresa seem to struggle at conversation, both uncertain of how to discover each other, yet each finding an attraction they can't seem to deny. Garrett is hanging on to the love he still feels for his wife, who died too early. Theresa is still recovering from a divorce, and the busy life of a single parent. Neither is sure they can be open to a new relationship, nor are they ready to say goodbye to something that is starting to feel so right.

The photography of the sailboats on the ocean were enough to bring out the romantic in me. What could be a more peaceful setting than a sailboat anchored privately in a small cove of the ocean in the Outer Banks?. We're given just enough peek into the unfolding world of a couple discovering love, without it feeling like an intrusion.

To talk more of the ups and downs would give away too many of the secrets that only the theatre, the bookstore, or the ocean will release.

While on vacation, a single mother identified as Theresa discovers a 'message in a bottle' on the shore that has moving honest words of love addressed to a woman named Catherine…

The trail leads her to a sailboat builder named Garrett and also to his father, Dodge in a small North Carolina coastal town… It turns out that Catherine is Garret's deceased wife, and the intriguing letters were written, two years earlier, after her decease…

Some people find the one true love of their lives, if they're fortunate enough… Luis Mandoki's film, in part, turns out to be a choice about what occurs when a person finds that right kind of love, then when he is faced with the impossible, and then when he is given the right to continue with his life and is brave enough to love again no matter how unpleasant his grief is…

As a reclusive widower, Garret was still in deep pain, and entirely devoted to Catherine's memory… He had hard time letting go of the past… Catherine was dead but not forgotten and was simply everywhere…

As a sailor Costner didn't inherit the charm of Newman… He was drawn to Penn by her smile, her beauty, even her mistakes…

Robin Wright Penn was beautiful, delicate and sweet as Theresa… She soon insinuates her way into Garret's life… Her expectations were always too high… Since the beginning, she just had to meet the person that wrote those letters… Her life was changed by them… Eventually when she met Garret that morning, she accepted, without hesitation, to step aboard…

Paul Newman as Dodge liked Theresa instantly… He saw in her the key to his son's emotional recovery…

With a very nice music, and a stunning coastal photography—also the ocean scenes are wonderfully taken—"Message in a Bottle" is definitely a weepy melodrama and a must see for those who believe, or don't, in love