Web posted on:
Thursday, February 11, 1999 12:42:51 PM EST

From Reviewer Paul Clinton

(CNN) -- Kevin Costner may not be the greatest actor of his time, but he is a genuine movie star. He's sort of a 1990s version of Gary Cooper, and until recently, he was fairly adept at picking his screen material.

But he nearly drowned us with "Waterworld" before adding insult to injury by making that self-serving, grandiose epic, "The Postman." Now, it appears his message is once again getting through with "Message in a Bottle," a wonderful, romantic story about love and fate.

The Outer Banks of North Carolina supposedly provide the beautiful setting for the screen adaptation of Nicholas Sparks' book, "Message in a Bottle." But in reality, the scenery was provided by the coastline of Maine.

Bought by Warner Studios while it was still in galley form, the novel "Message in a Bottle" eventually landed on The New York Times bestsellers list, where it remained for 28 weeks. This romantic screen adaptation stars Kevin Costner as Garret Blake, Robin Wright Penn as Theresa Osborne and Paul Newman as Garret's father, Dodge.

This is basically a two-person piece with a noble assist from Newman. Theresa, a divorced mother with a young son, has been burned by love and has no intention of letting herself be hurt again. Then, while walking along a beach during a solitary vacation, she finds a bottle -- holding a message. This achingly romantic letter from a man to his deceased wife makes a Hallmark card seem callous.

Garret, the writer of the heartfelt missive, is living a lonely life with his father in a small fishing village off the coast of the Carolinas. Like Theresa, he can't let go of his pain.

But she decides to takes action. Since she works as a researcher for The Chicago Tribune, she's able to track Garret down out of curiosity. Then, she falls in love. So does he. But it's difficult to find a safe harbor for their new emotions when he's haunted by the past and she's afraid of the future.

This film is fairly true to the book, both in tone and plot. The screenwriting credit goes to Gerald Di Pego. But I'm guessing Jim Wilson, the film's co-producer (also Costner's business partner in Tig Productions), had a lot to do with the adaptation. Wilson was instrumental in taking Michael Blake's novel, "Dances With Wolves" and making it into an Academy Award-winning film.

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Theatrical preview for "Message in a Bottle"
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Paul Clinton reviews "Message in a Bottle"
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The bottom line? Costner's back and Wright Penn's got him. Once again, he's a reluctant hero doing what he does best. As in "Bull Durham," "Tin Cup" and "Field of Dreams," Costner's character has been burned by life, but in the end, is once again willing to take a chance.

I hate to use type-casting with any actor. They should all be allowed to experiment with their talents. But Costner, like Sylvester Stallone (and many others), seems to be limited in what audiences will tolerate in terms of straying too far from what he does best.

It's vital to this film that he and Wright Penn do have on-screen chemistry, and that they deliver it. It also doesn't hurt to have Newman playing Costner's wise and loving father. But the main point is that this role was tailor-made for Costner and showcases his strengths as an actor.

Director Luis Mandoki has provided a beautiful canvas upon which this story unfolds, while still managing to resist making the movie into a travelogue.

This date flick is shamelessly manipulative and spoon-feeds big heaping helpings of sentimentality, but I think it will work for many. If you like them weepy, "Message in a Bottle" is worth seeing. Yep, it's a chick flick, but it's well done. Bring tissue. You know who you are.

Rated PG-13 for a scene containing sexuality. 105 minutes.

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