Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2639 in DVD
• Released on: 1999-10-18
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Romanian, Arabic, Bulgarian
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 126 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
If, as they say, you're in a certain mood, Message in a Bottle can be just the ticket. Based on Nicholas Sparks' bestselling novel, this handsome but overly calculated romantic tale stars Robin Wright Penn as Theresa, a Chicago Tribune researcher who finds a note encased in a green bottle that has floated onto a Cape Cod shore. The message within is a heartfelt, yearning declaration of love to a woman named Catherine but the author is unknown until Theresa (rather improbably) tracks him down in North Carolina. He's Garret Blake (Kevin Costner), a taciturn builder of sailboats and a grieving widower whose late wife, poetically speaking, was the intended recipient of the seafaring note Theresa found. Theresa, a divorcée with a son, decides to meet Garret, only to find him as bottled-up as his message. Nevertheless, a romance blooms on the strength of quality time in a sailboat and lots of cuddling, though the script tosses in bits of conflict to keep their relationship spicy. Directed by Luis Mandoki (When a Man Loves a Woman), this love story is entirely by the numbers, with Costner inhabiting (rather than performing) a stock fantasy of a man perfect in every way save his broken heart. Penn brings more vibrancy to her equally predictable part but fortunately for all, Paul Newman, John Savage, Robbie Coltrane and Illeana Douglas are on hand in nicely textured character parts. Sometimes predictability is exactly what one wants when settling in for an evening of home video, and this movie fits the bill nicely. The appealing cinematography is by ace cameraman Caleb Deschanel. --Tom Keogh

Special Features
2.35 Wide Screen
DVD 9
English
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Dolby Digital 5.1
Additional Scenes
Theatrical Trailer
Deleted Scenes
Audio Commentaries
Arabic\Bulgarian\English\Romanian

Synopsis
The story of a long distance love connection that is made when Penn, a Chicago journalist, discovers a love letter that Costner, a widowed sailboat repairer, let drift into the ocean. She quickly tracks him down and an honest bond forms between the two. When he discovers that she hasn't been entirely honest with him, the betrayal threatens to ruin what has been, so obviously up to this point, a wonderful, romantic thing.

Customer Reviews

A haunting + touching ADULT love story without cliches
********************NO SPOILERS******.

As the old saying goes, what doesn't find us in life as fate, will find us in destiny.

This film deals with the complexity of grief very well and anyone who has loved will empathize with the 2 central characters in this film. You really give a toss for the characters because their traits are so familiar to us all when it comes to dealing with relationships and not wanting to fall in love because of the pain it can cause..... so heres the story in a nutshell.

Theresa (played by Robin Wright Penn ) is out jogging on a beach one morning and finds a bottle embedded in the sand, in the bottle contains a heartbreaking letter of someone who knows his partner is about to die, Theresa is so infatuated by the heart wrenching contents and poetry in the mans letter she dedicates all her time into finding him and when she does a love story develops and if I go any further I'll spoil it for you.

Now I'm a man and love Boys movies and hadnt cried in 3 years until I watched this film , its THE most beautiful coherent and honest love story told, without pulling any punches, no meaningless sweaty love scenes or whipped cream flying around, just an epic tale of romance , great characterizations, consumate acting from Kevin Costner, Paul Newman (very underplayed and moving) and Robin Penn all very good.

If you like films in the shape of 'City Of Angels', 'The English Patient' , 'Beaches', Terms Of Endearment etc this will be in your collection I must commend Gabriel Yareds moving score for this film its almost as good as the one for City of Angels and it will be in your CD drive for ages.

What can I say ...................... Brilliant
Well, what a film. It has to be one of the saddest love stories ever written. Even though it does follow the plot of your average love story, it has something more. Costner is once again fantastic. He plays the part of Garret Blake and is outstanding. He looks at his best in this movie. Robin Wright Penn, Robbie Coltraine and paul Newman also all play excellent parts.

If you like any sort of romantic film then this is deffinately for you. It's a classic !

Touching
A really touching love story. I havent cried over a film since 'Love Story' to be honest, but this one had the tears rolling! It was so moving.

It is an extremely tender story. Kevin Costner plays the grieving husband. He cannot get over or let go of the memory of his late wife - whom he loved so deeply. His life is full of memories of her and her possessions - which never allow him to move on. Love enters his life - through his touching 'message in a bottle', but he is unable/unwilling to accept it into his life. There is a scene in the film where Kevin Costner turns to his new love - obviously in great mental anguish and says 'I don't want to loose you' - and his new love looks at him hurt and frustrated and says - well then don't - it is so heart-wrenching. You can literally feel both of their pain and frustrations. She loves him, but cannot get close to him, and he loves her but cannot allow her in.

Kevin Costner gave an outstanding performance in this film. He made his pain and inner torment seem so real. As the story unfolds, he slowly begins to let his guard down to possibly accept love into his life. So we have a happy ending? - Maybe not! I cannot believe the ending to this day. I am still numb with shock. I will not spoil it for you - but I found the ending a total shock.

This is a tear-jerker film. But one that is so touching I would still recommend it to be watched. The soundtrack is gorgeous also.