MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE by DeWyNGaLe   Rating: C

Many people like to write a message, put it in a bottle, and put it in the ocean in hopes that someday, it will wash ashore, and someone will read it. Theresa Osborne, played by Robin Wright Penn works at a newspaper, isn't married, and has one son. Jogging one day, she finds a message in a bottle. The message is from a man to a woman that he loves, and he wishes would come back. After reading the letter, Theresa falls in love with whoever wrote the letter instantly. At work, they print up an article asking for information on this message in a bottle. The article is a hit, and tons of letters come in regarding the message. Theresa's goal is to find the writer of the letters and to meet him. Through a lot of hard work, they finally track down the man.
His name is Garret Blake, and he is played by Kevin Costner. Against her bosses' orders, Theresa goes out to find Garret.

I was very disappointed by the first thirty minutes into the film. When I heard about this movie, before I saw it, I was expecting a movie about a search to find the man who wrote the letters, but it wasn't that at all. They find Garret within thirty minutes into the film, and then the movie changes into a love story. I think it would have been a much better movie if they had gone with the plot line of finding the writer of the letters for the majority of the film, then finding him. This was a huge disappointment for me.

Theresa goes to visit Garret, not revealing that she has found his messages. He reveals to her that he lost his wife when she died a few years ago. He informs her that he is still in love, and always will be. Garret is in a really tough position because he is starting to fall for Theresa, and he doesn't want to fall in love again. For the next hour, the two get along, and then the next minute Garret will get mad, and then they will be together again. I found it pretty boring to watch them work out their problems,
because they were presented in a boring, not fun matter.

The cinematography in the film is great. The ocean scenes are wonderfully put together, and there are many beautiful sites that result from these scenes. The scenes where they are sailing on boats in the ocean are a lot of fun to watch. The sound is also very good in the ocean scenes. With the cinematography and the sound mixed, it really felt like I was actually on the ocean. Garret's house is also very nice, and is a nice change from seeing all the houses that are in the city. It is a very peaceful place, and it seems very secure.

The performances in Message In A Bottle are what save it from sinking to the bottom of the ocean. Robin Wright Penn and Kevin Costner do not go on screen well together, and although Penn did a wonderful job as Theresa, I think that
someone else could have fit the role a little bit better, such as Michelle Pfeiffer. Kevin Costner was great as Garret. Message In A Bottle is the first film for him in a long time, but unfortunately, it wasn't exactly a good one to come back with. Perhaps the best performance in the film was by Paul Newman, who played Dodge Blake, Garret's father. Dodge is also uneasy about
Garret becoming close to another girl, because he was also very fond of Garret's first wife. The cast who played Theresa's co-workers were also great. Overall, the performances were great by everyone in the film. It was the way the movie was made that made it not be as good as it could have been.

The Bottom Line- I hope this message goes in a bottle, and never returns to shore.