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Message in a Bottle

  • 1999
  • PG-13
  • 2h 6m
IMDb RATING
6.3/10
42K
YOUR RATING
Message in a Bottle (1999)
Home Video Trailer from Warner Home Video
Play trailer0:31
1 Video
50 Photos
Feel-Good RomanceTragic RomanceDramaRomance

A woman discovers a tragic love letter in a bottle on a beach, and is determined to track down its author.A woman discovers a tragic love letter in a bottle on a beach, and is determined to track down its author.A woman discovers a tragic love letter in a bottle on a beach, and is determined to track down its author.

  • Director
    • Luis Mandoki
  • Writers
    • Nicholas Sparks
    • Gerald Di Pego
  • Stars
    • Kevin Costner
    • Robin Wright
    • Paul Newman
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.3/10
    42K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Luis Mandoki
    • Writers
      • Nicholas Sparks
      • Gerald Di Pego
    • Stars
      • Kevin Costner
      • Robin Wright
      • Paul Newman
    • 262User reviews
    • 75Critic reviews
    • 40Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 6 nominations total

    Videos1

    Message in a Bottle
    Trailer 0:31
    Message in a Bottle

    Photos50

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    + 44
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    Top cast41

    Edit
    Kevin Costner
    Kevin Costner
    • Garret
    Robin Wright
    Robin Wright
    • Theresa
    • (as Robin Wright Penn)
    Paul Newman
    Paul Newman
    • Dodge
    John Savage
    John Savage
    • Johnny Land
    Illeana Douglas
    Illeana Douglas
    • Lina
    Robbie Coltrane
    Robbie Coltrane
    • Charlie
    Jesse James
    Jesse James
    • Jason
    Bethel Leslie
    Bethel Leslie
    • Marta
    Tom Aldredge
    Tom Aldredge
    • Hank
    Viveka Davis
    Viveka Davis
    • Alva
    Raphael Sbarge
    Raphael Sbarge
    • Andy
    Richard Hamilton
    Richard Hamilton
    • Chet
    Rosemary Murphy
    Rosemary Murphy
    • Helen At The B&B
    Steven Eckholdt
    Steven Eckholdt
    • David
    Susan Brightbill
    • Catherine
    Patricia Belcher
    Patricia Belcher
    • Annie
    Steve Mellor
    • Man On Dock
    Lance Gilbert
    • Man On Sinking Boat
    • Director
      • Luis Mandoki
    • Writers
      • Nicholas Sparks
      • Gerald Di Pego
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews262

    6.341.8K
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    Featured reviews

    8egenc-1

    Beautiful

    I think the ones that gave 1 to this movie are the ones that gave 10 to Doom. Otherwise there is no way that this movie can be rated as low as a terrible production such as Doom..

    It is a story of a guy (Kevin Costner) that is stucked between living the past or looking for the future after meeting Theresa. It is a well acted love story the end of which is not signaled as some other argued!It is not a cliché at all.If someone claim otherwise, i would like him/her give me an example similar to this movie in plot.

    I would recommend this movie to everyone for a nice evening! Watch it you will not be regretful.
    raymond-15

    A romantic offering with appeal to women.

    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.
    5Musicop

    Mopey Costner

    If you're a big Kevin Costner fan, then you will probably like this film. But, if watching Costner mope around on screen for nearly two hours is not your cup of tea, this film will probably be a very tedious experience for you.

    Paul Newman is great. The film flies by while he's on screen. When he's not, the film drags. He deserves an academy award nomination for best supporting actor next year. But seeing as how this film is such a trifle, I doubt it will be remembered next week, let alone next February.
    6valleyjohn

    Thank god for Paul Newman

    I would normally avoid a film like this . I don't do romantic movies , especially overlong , Kevin Costner ones but I watched this because I'm going through the entire catalogue of Paul Newman films and unsurprisingly he is the best thing in this mushy , over sentimental chic flick .

    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.

    In a way , this is the best character Kevin Costner could play . I moody , withdraw , sullen man which basically sums up his acting style. Robin Wright does a decent job but you have to wonder what her character sees in a miserable man , fifteen years older than her who wears beige slacks and a cardigan!

    It's worth watching this film along just for Paul Newman. In one of his last performances he steals the show as the dad . He still has that twinkle in his eyes that we are so used to seeing .

    The plot is ridiculous as they do often are in these kind of films.

    One scene where Therese knows that Garrett is going to stay over night , she just happens to leave the bottle and letters in the bedside drawer right next to him . That's just dumb script writing.

    As with nearly all Kevin Costner movies it's at least 45 minutes too long and the merciful ending is just typical of a Mills & Boon type novel .

    Thank god for Paul Newman.
    8Nazi_Fighter_David

    "Choose between yesterday and tomorrow. Pick one. Stick with it."

    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

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    Related interests

    Omar Epps and Sanaa Lathan in Love & Basketball (2000)
    Feel-Good Romance
    Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal in Brokeback Mountain (2005)
    Tragic Romance
    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama
    Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca (1942)
    Romance

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The sites that were finally chosen for most of the shooting of the scenes of Garret's hometown were Northport and Popham Beach, Maine. Over $250,000. of renovations were done to the seasonal home in Popham that became Garret's house, including the addition of the room which held Catherine's artwork and the adjacent living room with fireplace (faux). At the end of filming the owner of the house demanded that it be returned to its original state costing the production company nearly as much to undo.
    • Goofs
      In his final letter to Catherine, Garret writes that he regrets watching Theresa get into a plane and fly away, but when she left him she drove away in a rental car (the airport scene was deleted).
    • Quotes

      [last lines]

      Theresa Osborne: If some lives form a perfect circle, others take shape in ways we cannot predict or always understand. Loss has been a part of my journey. But it has also shown me what is precious. So has a love for which I can only be grateful.

    • Crazy credits
      "Girl with lantern" painting by Helen Turner Greenville County Museum of Art
    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Payback/She's All That/Rushmore/Simply Irresistible/My Name Is Joe (1999)
    • Soundtracks
      I Will Know Your Love
      Written by Beth Nielsen Chapman and Ann Roboff (as Annie Roboff)

      Produced by Carmen Rizzo, Beth Nielsen Chapman, and Ann Roboff (as Annie Roboff)

      Performed by Beth Nielsen Chapman

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 12, 1999 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Warner Bros.
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Mensaje de amor
    • Filming locations
      • Wilmington, North Carolina, USA
    • Production companies
      • Warner Bros.
      • Bel Air Entertainment
      • Tig Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $80,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $52,880,016
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $16,751,560
      • Feb 14, 1999
    • Gross worldwide
      • $118,880,016
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 2h 6m(126 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
      • SDDS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

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