MESSAGE TO ANOTHER PLACE AND TIME. (Message In A Bottle (DVD))

Member Name: thingywhatsit

Product:	Message In A Bottle (DVD)
Date:	08/01/06 (164 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: SUPER FILM FOR AN EVENING IN FRONT OF THE TELLY.

Disadvantages: NOT A BOYS FIILM BUT LET US CHICKS HAVE OUR ENJOYMENT TOO

I like an intelligent film, one with a story that is feasible, because that's just the way I am. I have watched this 1999 movie about three times now, and each time, I notice things that I didn't notice the first time. Tonight, I noticed the beauty of the scenery which is the backdrop of the story.

When Nicholas Sparks wrote the novel upon which the story is based, I wonder if he saw actors as brilliant as those used ever being in his story. It's a well directed story and the Director, Luis Mandoki, who also directed 'Angel Eyes' and 'When a Man Loves a Woman'.

The story takes us to a chance happening, a once in a lifetime event where reporter, Theresa, played by Robin Wright Penn, happens upon a bottle in the sand of the beach where she is jogging that carries a note that tells of regret, love, and devotion to a lady called Catherine. Intrigued, she shows this to her workmates, and her boss played by Robbie Coltrane, publishes it in the Newspaper, much to her disapproval.

Where the story goes from here is where the enchantment starts as little by little people respond and produce other letters that are found that are similar, and with the use of clever detective work, they find the author, Garrett Blake, played by a wonderfully sexy and sincere Kevin Costner, who lives in the wilds of North Carolina with his father, played by an equally effective actor, Paul Newman.

What struck me about the film was the way in which a story unfolds, and I won't give this away. Suffice to say that the stars were well chosen, the music memorable with songs by Clannad, Marc Cohn, and Sheryl Crow amongst others, a soundtrack for which is available to buy separately.

This is a super movie, probably a chick flick but not a pointless one. It's one that shows the strengths and weaknesses of love, the way in which love is sometimes hard to let go of, and how human beings falter when moving on. To me, it was 101 minutes well spent, and I know I shall watch it again.

Humbug, I hear males less sentimental than me saying. Well, they are wrong. It's a story of morality, with enough hot stuff in it to be classed 13 Parent Guided, but not so much that one could call it smut.

I loved the story, the interaction between the stars, and the reality of the remote possibilities that it brought to the viewer as the scenes unfolded. Ending ? Well, you will have to watch it to see that, but it is a worthwhile one. Even tempted now to write my message in a bottle, throw it over the cliffs and see where it takes my story !

Look out for it on Amazon for as little as Four Pounds Fifty and certainly buy the book as well.

Happy viewing.

Rachel

Summary: super film