Message in a Bottle *** (1999, Kevin Costner, Robin Wright, Paul Newman) – Classic Movie Review 2021

Director Luis Mandoki turns the novel by Nicholas Sparks (A Walk to Remember, The Notebook) into a fine 1999 movie romance as journalist Theresa Osborne (Robin Wright Penn) finds Garret Blake (Kevin Costner)’s love letter to his dead wife in a bottle washed ashore from the sea and then goes to seek him out. 

When Theresa tracks down the author, she finds he is a widowed shipbuilder whose wife died tragically early. Naturally, love between the two of them follows as night comes after day, though for Garret it is a struggle to move on and find happiness.

This plush, well-heeled movie is only for unashamed romantics, but they’ll love it. 

The wily old Paul Newman effortlessly upstages everyone as Costner’s dad, Dodge Blake. It’s a great pity that the movie wasn’t just about him. But he does have enough to do to make his presence count. To be fair, Wright Penn and Costner make a convincing, handsome romantic couple, and the two actors do their strong best with the glossy material.

Ileanna Douglas, Robbie Coltrane, John Savage and Jesse James co-star. Also in the cast are Bethel Leslie, Tom Aldredge, Viveka Davis, Raphael Sbarge, Richard Hamilton, Rosemary Murphy, Steven Eckholdt, Susan Brightbill and Patricia Belcher.

The sites for most of the shooting of the scenes of Garret’s hometown were Northport and Popham Beach, Maine.

Several of Nicholas Sparks’s bestselling books, including A Walk to Remember (2002), The Notebook (2004) and Nights in Rodanthe (2008), have been adapted into blockbuster movies.

© Derek Winnert 2014 Classic Movie Review 2021

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com/