Plot: What’s it about?
Robin Wright Penn is cast as Theresa, a divorced researcher who finds a bottle half buried in the sand on a Cape Cod beach. She pulls out the bottle and sees a message inside. She reads it and is deeply moved by the love letter. Upon returning to Chicago where she lives with her son, she reads it to her co-workers at the newspaper she works at. Her editor publishes the letter and the newspaper receives bundles of letters from people who were also moved by the romantic prose…mostly women. Theresa can’t stop thinking about Garret and pulls out all the stops to find the man who is responsible for such sentiment. Kevin Costner plays Garret, a man who builds and repairs boats for a living whose wife has recently died. A man still deeply in love with the memories of his wife can’t move past his grief and let go. Living in the small waterfront town he grew up in, his only companions are the sea and his father, a cantankerous recovering alcoholic (Paul Newman) named Dodge…like the truck (easy…it’s in the movie). When they meet, Theresa doesn’t tell him why she is there and that she found the bottle, which obviously causes problems later on…you’ll find out. As Garret continues struggling with the feelings for his wife, he is also finds himself attracted to Theresa. The ending wasn’t what I expected and it helped separate Message In A Bottle from the predictable.
This is not your typical love story where the characters are the focal point surrounded by the rest of the movie and go through a predictable series of events. The small fishing town is like a scenic postcard and the boats and the sea are spectacular. They become the movie as much as the fine cast of characters and you find yourself enjoying the scenery and story as one. I grew up on the New England coast (where the movies costal scenes were actually shot) so I might have a more personal connection to this movie, but I’ll bet you can’t help but be drawn to the sea as you watch this film. Paul Newman is really great as his father, but does not overpower the other characters as he easily could…in the Special Features cast info; Mr. Newman’s list of movie credits is really quite remarkable (Cool Hand Luke and The Hustler are my favorites). It’s nice to come across a movie that blends together as well as this one does. The cinema photographer (who has a cameo role…watch the special features) is the true star in this movie. The top quality audio and video of the DVD medium may have influenced my review but that’s what the “Digital” world brings to your living room.
Video: How does it look?
It doesn’t get any better than this on DVD as far as video is concerned, but don’t judge all DVD’s by this one or you will be disappointed. Judge for yourself.
Audio: How does it sound?
The use of 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround in this movie gives you 360 degrees of sound, music and dialogue you won’t experience in a crowded theater. The lack of obvious distractions (gooey soda covered floors for one) in your home will allow you to hear the sounds of seagulls from the right rear channel and the waves breaking on the beach from the front channels while the dialogue in the center never gets lost. The musical score is so clear you’ll feel like you’re in a demo room surrounded by an orchestra. Be sure to watch all the credits to the end of the movie (as I always do) because there is some really great music right to the end including a great song by Sheryl Crow. You will judge future DVD’s audio by this release. I hope your home theater system will let you hear what I did.
Supplements: What are the extras?
At first I was impressed with the amount of Special Features this DVD came with, including these hidden bottles that appear as you navigate the menu (kind of a gimmick but I like gimmicks). If you click on the bottle it takes you to behind the scene special effects. For the dedicated viewer who always watches everything that comes on the DVD, you will be tested when you come to the feature length (a repeat of the entire movie) with commentary by the producer and director…I didn’t make it to the end. There are deleted scenes and much much more. Sometimes you can have too much of a good thing. I’m not complaining though.
