Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

Message In A Bottle

After reading the book, I just had to see the movie. I must admit was not impressed with the movie. As with any novel and movie you expect things to change and of course what you imagine may not be what the director imagines.

I rented Message In A Bottle (1999) in the DVD style.

Message In A Bottle Stars

Kevin Costner as Garret Blake
Robin Wright Penn as Theresa Osbourne
Paul Newman as Dodge Blake
Robbie Coltrane as Charlie
Jesse James as Jason
John Savage as Johnny

Message In A Bottle is based on the novel, Message In A Bottle, by Nicholas Sparks.
Screenplay by Gerald DiPego
Produced by
Denise DiNovi
Jim Wilson
Kevin Costner
Directed by
Luis Mandoki

A Warner Bros Production, in association with Bel-Air Entertainment, A TIG production, in association with DiNovi Pictures.




The movie begins with Theresa and her eight year old son Jason on an airplane trip. Theresa is taking a small vacation and Jason is visiting his dad, step-mother and half-baby brother.

Theresa is staying on the Cape for a few days before returning to Chicago, where she is a researcher for a newspaper company.

While Theresa is jogging along the shore line she comes across a bottle. She pulls the bottle out of the sand and sees a message in the bottle. She pulls out the cork and reads:

(This is the letter as she reads it from the movie)

“Dear Catherine,

I’m sorry I haven’t talked to you in so long. I feel I’ve been lost. No bearings, no compass. I kept crashing into things. A little crazy I guess.

I’ve never been lost before. You were my true North. I could always steer for home, when you were my home. Forgive me for when you left, I still think some mistakes been made and I’m waiting for God to take it back.

But, I’m doing better now, the work helps me. Most of all you help me. You came into my dream last night. With that smile of yours that always held me like a lover, rocked me like a child. All I remember from the dream is a feeling of peace. I woke with that feeling and tried to keep it alive as long as I could.

I’m writing to tell you I am on a journey toward that peace and to tell you I am sorry about so many things.

I’m sorry I didn’t take better care of you, so that you would never had spent one minute being cold, being scared or being sick.

I’m sorry I never fixed the screen dock. I fixed it now.

I’m sorry I ever fought with you.

I’m sorry I didn’t apologize more. I was too proud.

I’m sorry I didn’t bring you more compliments on everything you wore and the way you fixed your hair.

I’m sorry I didn’t’ hold onto you with so much strength that even God couldn’t pull you away.

All my love,
G”

Theresa is reading this letter to us from the time that is takes the message out of the bottle, back to the Cape, on the plane and finally finishes by reading it to her fellow employees at the newspaper.

The women are sitting there just love struck, the men are in stage of oh brother..

Charlie, Theresa’s boss, seems to take an interest in the letter, and has it printed in the newspaper. The letters that pours into the news room is by the hundreds. Charlie decides that this is bigger than he thought and has Theresa do more research on the bottle and the message.

While going through the letters in the mail, Theresa comes across another Dear Catherine letter. Now, this really sparks everyone’s interest.

Digging a little harder we find that the paper, bottle and type are all pretty recent. The big news was that the cork was in the water for only two years. The author of the letters may still be alive.

A call comes in about a third letter being found in the Virginia area, the letter is faxed over to the newspaper. Everything is the same, except there is no "Dear Catherine" heading. It is amazing how fast they are able to find out information in this movie. Not only do they find three messages in a bottle, but all the information on the bottle, letter, the type of typewriter used and even the logo. Could you believe with one phone call they have the address of the person that designed the logo? Impressive, I must say.

Off to St. Claire, North Carolina Theresa goes. Once in North Carolina Theresa easily finds Catherine Blake’s house. She walks around a beautiful, large, south house and meets Dodge Blake. With a little chit chat we find out that Garret is the owner of the house and Dodge’s son. Garret is down at the dock’s working on a boat.

Here we find a very quiet Garret bent over and finishing up on an old boat that he is restoring. With a little flirting Theresa gets an invitation to go sailing in the morning with Garret.

Theresa walks into the local restaurant (if that is what you want to call this old, run down greasy spoon) and finds Garret fighting with another man. Later we find out that the fight was with Garret’s brother-in-law, Johnny. There are hard feelings through out the movie between Garret and Catherine’s family. Although at the ending of the movie there is a finally a little peace between them.

Theresa does go on the sailing trip with Garret. There isn’t much talk, and way too much sailing. This is the perfect time to go pop some popcorn.

This I would have to say is one of my favorite parts in the whole movie. I could see my father-in-law doing this:

Garret is back at the house getting his hair cut by his dad, Dodge. When Dodge notices the jacket, Jacket looks a little small for you. Garret responds, that woman that I took sailing, she left it. Dodge, well you call her, you taking it back to her? Garret, No, I thought you would take it in town and leave it at her hotel. Dodge, NO. Garret then tells his dad that it is not an easy thing to do. Dodge puts down the scissors and picks up the jacket. He says, I’ll be you, you be her… He then throws the jacket at Garret and says; here’s your jacket. He turns away from Garret and then says, Jackets like that don’t come around every week you know.

(That is pretty much how the movie has it.)

Garret does take the jacket to Theresa and they end up spending the rest of her time together. We find out that Theresa was once married and divorced when she found out that her husband was cheating on her. We also learn that Catherine and died because a pregnancy had made her very ill.

Through different times in the movie you see how much Garret still loves Catherine. He has her paintings on the walls, he has her studio area the same, completely untouched, and it is as though time stayed still with her death. Even her shoes sit under the chair that she worked at.

A few weeks after Theresa goes back to Chicago, Garret calls her to tell her that he is now working on his boat. She asks him to come up and visit her. He agrees.

While in Chicago Garret seems not to fit in the big city, but is making the best of everything. You can see that they are falling in love. After a loving-making fest Theresa goes to take a shower and Garret lights a candle, seeing the lace stuck into the drawer he opens it and finds the bottle, the article, the letters he wrote and one even from Catherine.

Garret is so hurt by Theresa’s deception, by her reading those letters and all of her friends knowing about the letters and him. He could listen to Theresa as she told him how much she loved him. All he could see was his pain.

Garret goes back to North Carolina.

I don’t want to destroy the ending for you. So, I’ll just leave it right here.

I would have to say that this is as my husband says a “chick flick” This movie is ok. Not as good as the book. I pictured someone completely different for Garret and maybe having Theresa and Garret a little closer in age. The chemistry just isn’t there on the screen. Kevin Costner just seems to be a little too bland and Theresa is just not quite right. As for the movie, I found myself doing laundry. It was pretty boring. I have watched better movies on Lifetime.

I find it hard to believe that a man so deeply in-love with his departed wife would fall in-love so fast. After all he even named his boat Catherine, and that is after he met Theresa. I still don't think that Garret wrote those letters, they were so beautiful and articulate, were as he barely even spoke. Sure those were his thoughts of his wife on those letters, but they just don't fit the Costner in this movie. The ending is by far the worst. For the son of a sailor, I can't believe he didn't know there was going to be a heck of a storm out there. You would understand that line if you see the movie.

The Pros:
Romance, beautiful North Carolina

The Cons:
Kevin Costner has no character in this movie. He is just a lost, quiet soul.
The movie is boring; the sailing is way too long. The ending is unbelievable.





Recommended: No

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age
Special Effects: Well at least you can't see the strings