Last week I mentioned that I was going to do a Nicholas Sparks movie marathon leading up the the release of his newest film, The Lucky One, which will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on August 28, 2012.
I have every Nicholas Sparks movie made to date and will be adding The Lucky One to my collection soon. Currently the movie Safe Haven, based on another Nicholas Sparks book, is being filmed. It should be in theaters in February 2013.
I’m going to review his films in sequence from the date of their release. Today I’m reviewing the first Nicholas Sparks story that was made into a film. The movie is Message in a Bottle and it stars Keven Costner, Robin Wright Penn, Paul Newman, Illeana Douglas and Robbie Coltrane. This is the only Nicholas Sparks movie that I have never seen before.
Teresa (Wright) is a single mother who is dealing with her ex-husband’s infidelities. She fills her time between her son and her job as a journalist. I think she does this to avoid the pain her ex-husband caused her. The last thing on her mind was falling in love again.
One day Teresa was jogging on a beach in Cape Cod, Massachusetts while on vacation. Along the way she discovers a glass bottle. Inside the bottle she finds a note. Out of curiosity she reads the note. It’s addressed to a woman named Catherine and it’s obvious that whomever wrote the note was truly, madly and deeply in love with her.
Many people would just toss the bottle back into the ocean, or leave it along the shore. But not Teresa. The words written on the note haunted her. She just had to find the author of the note. Using her resources she locates the man who wrote the note. A man name is Garrett Blake and he lives in a small seaside community in North Carolina.
Teresa is compelled to meet the man who penned the beautiful declaration of love to a woman name Catherine. She just had to meet him, so she travels to North Carolina to track him down.
Garrett Blake (Costner) is a widower who builds sailboats. His wife Catherine died tragically and Blake is having a difficult time getting over the loss of his beloved wife. Even her parents are still grieving their loss. Blake finds comfort sailing on the seas. He also lives with his father, Dodge (Newman).
Teresa and Garrett strike up a friendship. Teresa never tells Garrett that she found the message he put in a bottle. She knows that his feelings are fragile and he’s still angry and upset with his wife for dying on him.
As time goes on things between Teresa and Garrett get more serious and they get closer to one another, even though they physically live far apart.
You want to root for them and hope that they end up together and finally find happiness but something tragic (and totally unexpected!) happens to change things forever.
I did not expect the movie to end the way it did. Just when you thought you could predict the ending something totally unexpected happened.
Here is a trailer I found for the film. If you are reading this via e-mail you can find the trailer here, http://bit.ly/O2AORg.
This is a typical Nicholas Sparks film. It’s romantic, you want the couple to end up together and live happily ever after, and it’s filmed in the most beautiful locations. In this film there were a lot of scenes on or near the sea. It made me wish I could be whisked away and be right there with them in the film. North Carolina is a BEAUTIFUL place. I hope to be able to visit there one day. The ocean looks so inviting and the sandy beaches make me beckon me to want to walk on them.
Message in a Bottle is also a “tear jerker”. If you are sensitive (like me) make sure to have a few tissues on hand. I think there should be a warning sticker on all Nicholas Sparks film that recommends you keep a box of tissues on hand. 
This is a lovely film. I think Costner and Wright played their characters beautifully. Paul Newman was the perfect choice to play Garette’s father.
Message in a Bottle is available on DVD (I don’t think there is a Blu-ray version available). Look for it at your nearest movie retailer or online sources such as Amazon.com.
Have you seen Message in a Bottle? What do you think of the movie? I always love to hear from my readers.
Kimberly
*I received a free screener in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and are not influenced in any way.
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