Romance and fate have been themes in film as far back as I can remember. Within the last ten years, we've seen When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless In Seattle, and You've Got Mail--all lighthearted and similar in nature. Enter Message In A Bottle, a new film from director Luis Mandoki (When A Man Loves A Woman) with a more serious approach to the romance genre.

Kevin Costner plays a lonely man who writes love letters to his deceased wife, bottles them, and then throws them into the ocean. Robin Wright Penn (Forrest Gump, The Princess Bride) is a busybody journalist who finds one of the letters while jogging on the beach. She immediately becomes drawn to the author of the mysterious note.

The film is about love, hope, and fate and most of the time transcends standard melodrama by offering stellar performances, particularly from Wright Penn and the ever-so-graceful Paul Newman, as Costner's father. Mandoki has a great visual eye; but, the film lacks the sheer dramatic power of his last one. Costner rebounds nicely from the disastrous Postman with a solid performance that should keep his career afloat.

This is a pretty good date movie and does a good job laying on the romance. This movie also proves that you can get mail, but the best way is to get it in a bottle.