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Rating:
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, so utterly fated, that the second-act conflicts that arise to keep them temporarily apart feel phony. After a great setup that rivals that of Sleepless in Seattle (1993), it's a letdown when petty concerns over how they met and letting go of the past come between two lovers who have been cast as a modern-day Orpheus and Eurydice. Still, Newman gives one of his great, gruff star turns here and John Savage, wasted in a bit part that is interesting enough to have been more substantial, does some yeoman-like supporting work, diverting attention away from the contrived nature of much of the film's middle portion. Message in a Bottle comes back around again in the end, with an ending that, while not exactly leaving the audience with the feeling that anything has been learned or gained that made the trip worthwhile for the film's surviving hero, also must be given credit for surprisingly not copping out with a typical Hollywood ending. Still, the film's central romance could have used some of the earthy, realistic touch of Mandoki's previous excellent relationship drama, White Palace (1990). Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

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