Message in a Bottle

Based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks, Message In A Bottle stars Robin Wright Penn as Theresa Osborne, a writer for the Chicago Tribune. While her son visits her cheating ex-husband, Theresa goes on a vacation by herself. One day, while running on the beach, she finds a bottle washed up on the ...more

There's a lot to like in this film from director Luis Mandoki, including a terrific, underrated performance by supporting player Paul Newman, decent production values, and two leads who seem to genuinely like each other -- no small plus in a doomed romance. The film's chief stumbling block is that the source material from Nicholas Sparks and subsequent script adaptation from Gerald Di Pego make the blooming attraction between protagonists Kevin Costner and Robin Wright Penn seem so predestined, ...more