Message in a Bottle: Synopsis

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Based on NICHOLAS SPARKS' New York Times bestseller, "Message in a Bottle" stars KEVIN COSTNER, ROBIN WRIGHT PENN and PAUL NEWMAN, under the direction of LUIS MANDOKI. The motion picture is produced by DENISE DI NOVI, JIM WILSON and Kevin Costner.

Following a hurtful divorce, Theresa Osborne (Wright Penn) fills her life with caring for her son, Jason, and working as a researcher at the Chicago Tribune. The face she presents to the world - dependable, quietly driven, removed - masks her disappointment at her failed relationship and her determination never to be vulnerable again.

On a solitary holiday while Jason visits his father, Theresa is walking along a deserted stretch of coastline when she discovers a bottle containing a moving, passionate letter, signed simply, "G." The letter's poetry and heartache reach out to Theresa, prompting her to begin a search for the author that eventually leads her to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, to a sailboat builder named Garret Blake (Costner).

 
Since the death of his wife Catherine, Garret has lead a solitary existence, except for his relationship with his father, Dodge (Newman), who attempts to wrest his son away from his grief for Catherine. As Dodge says to Garret, "You choose - the past or the future. Pick one and stick with it."

A romance about love lost and found, "Message in a Bottle" also stars JOHN SAVAGE, ILLEANA DOUGLAS, ROBBIE COLTRANE and JESSE JAMES and has a screenplay by GERALD DiPEGO.

A group of accomplished behind-the-camera talent has been assembled, including director of photography CALEB DESCHANEL (Oscar nominated three times - for "Fly Away Home," "The Natural" and "The Right Stuff), production designer JEFFREY BEECROFT (Oscar nominated for "Dances With Wolves"), editor STEVEN WEISBERG ("Great Expectations") and composer GABRIEL YARED (Oscar winner for "The English Patient").

The questions about love and fate that compel Garret and Theresa to reach out to one another also prompted the filmmakers to question their own beliefs about how people handle loss and find the strength to move on. Denise Di Novi observes, "Everyone has been hurt, and some people just shut down for the rest of their lives. It takes enormous courage to love again following great pain."

Kevin Costner has a different perspective, noting, "Sometimes, it's hard to recognize the good things that are right in front of our faces because we're too busy looking over our shoulders."

Jim Wilson concludes, "Whether or not you believe in fate, things come into our life for a reason. What we're asking is - if you had come across this letter, would this be a journey you'd be willing to take?"