Message in a Bottle Reviews

Initial Thought: After watching the newest release of a Nicholas Sparks adaptation I decided to check out the one that started the trend. It has a pretty good cast so that's always a plus. Let's see what the first had to offer other than it's cast.

Characters/Acting: Not too many people here that I recognize. I do recognize some major people though like Kevin Costner, Robin Wright, Paul Newman, Robbie Coltrane, and a very young Hayden Panettiere. Paul Newman as Dodge is the best part about this. His character is just awesome and priceless. One of his best final performances. Everyone else did alright, but didn't grasp me like he did here.

Story: A woman discovers a tragic love letter in a bottle on a beach, and is determined to track down its author. Sounds like a very simple plot. Knowing the stories of Nicholas Sparks however it will be quite an web of events. The plot here kind of reminds me of a gender reversal version of The Lucky One. I wish she would have told him about the bottle, but hey then where would all the conflict be? For the majority of the film it's the typical romance formula. The last 30 minutes are when it gets really juicy. The ending really pulls your heartstrings.

Directing/Writing: The first movie adapted from Nicholas Sparks. The one that started the trend of his movies. The screenplay was written by Gerald Di Pego who was behind The Forgotten. I didn't really care for that one too much. I have never heard of Luis Mandoki before this film.

Final Thought: This was average until the last quarter kicked it into overdrive. I can see why this started the trend. It's a charming and heart-wrenching film. It isn't perfect by any means. Anyways I recommend seeing what started these adaptations if you have only seen the latter films.

Nowadays, the movies based on Nicholas Parks' books (just like the books themselves) are quite popular but the opinions are quite extreme concerning those. Indeed, the fans love them but the rest of us usually are not really thrilled by those movies. Personally, except for 'The Notebook' which I really enjoyed (surprisignly, director Nick Cassavetes said that it is his worst movie so far), I can't say I really enjoyed those. Anyway, this movie was the very first of these adaptations and, I must admit, it was actually not bad at all. Indeed, Kevin Costner and Robin Wright were both terribly charismatic and had some great chemistry together. Furthermore, the great Paul Newman had a small part and delivered, as usual, a very solid performance. Unfortunately, like many Sparks stories, the whole thing was based on some very contrived romantic situation and, at the end of the day, you either buy or not. Personally, I found it really hard to swallow but what really sold the deal for me was this terribly disappointing ending. Don't misunderstand me, I don't mind at all when a story ends badly but, in this case, it just felt really manufactured and it was there only to add some drama to an already cluttered melodramatic plot. I mean, I had a hard time to care about the convoluted plot but thanks to the decent directing and the work of the actors involved, when I was finally starting to believe in and invest myself in this romance, this ending made me really feel as if the whole thing was just a waste of time. Still, even though it is really flawed, there are some good stuff here and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.