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The Postman (film)
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Wikipedia article
'The Postman' is a 1997 American post-apocalyptic action adventure film produced and directed by Kevin Costner, who plays the lead role. The screenplay was written by Eric Roth and Brian Helgeland, based on David Brin's 1985 book of the same name. The film also features Will Patton, Larenz Tate, Olivia Williams, James Russo, and Tom Petty.
It is set in a post-apocalyptic and neo-Western version of the disestablished United States in the then near-future year of 2013, sixteen-plus years after unspecified apocalyptic events, followed by plagues, left a huge impact on human civilization and erased most technology. Like the book, the film follows the story of a nomadic drifter (Costner) who stumbles across the uniform of an old United States Postal Service mail carrier, and unwittingly inspires hope through an empty promise of a "Restored United States of America" and starts his path to become a national hero.
Released on Christmas of 1997 by Warner Bros., 'The Postman' was panned by critics, who criticized the performances, screenplay, direction, and long runtime. Costner's decision to cast himself in the film was also criticized. The film was a box-office bomb, grossing a total of $20 million worldwide against a budget of $80 million. It was nominated for three Saturn Awards but won all five of its Golden Raspberry Award nominations including Worst Picture.
Plot
In 2013, an unnamed nomad enters the Utah flatlands, trading performances of long forgotten Shakespearean plays for food and water. At one town, the nomad is forced at gunpoint into the ranks of the Holnists, a neo-fascist militia, and is branded on his shoulder with their symbol, a figure 8. The Holnists, under their leader, General Bethlehem, are the de facto authority in the area, collecting tribute and recruits from local towns. When the nomad escapes, he takes refuge in a long-deceased postman's mail vehicle.
With the postman's uniform and mail bag, he arrives in the settlement of Pineview claiming to be from the newly restored U.S. government. He convinces town sheriff Briscoe to let him in by showing a letter addressed to elderly villager Irene March. The Postman inspires a teenager named Ford Lincoln Mercury, swears him into the postal service, and even sets up a post office. The Postman also meets spouses Abby and Michael, fulfilling their clinical request to impregnate her. When the Postman leaves for the town of Benning, he carries a pile of mail left at the post office door by the townspeople.
During a raid of Pineview, General Bethlehem learns of the Postmans tales of a restored government in Minneapolis and becomes afraid of losing power if word spreads. He has the post office burned to the ground, kills Michael, abducts Abby, and raids Benning looking for the Postman. The Postman surrenders, but Abby saves him from execution, and the two escape into the surrounding mountains. A pregnant Abby and an injured Postman ride out the winter in an abandoned cabin. When spring arrives, they leave and run into a girl, who claims to be a postal carrier. She reveals that Ford Lincoln Mercury organized others to join the postal service. They have established communications with other settlements, creating a quasi-society and inadvertently spreading hope.
Bethlehem is still fighting to suppress the postal carriers, who are being executed one by one. In the face of mounting casualties, the Postman orders the service to disband and writes a surrender letter to Bethlehem. However, Bethlehem learns to his dismay that the Postman's example has spread farther than he could have anticipated when his men capture a carrier from California, and he redoubles his efforts to find the Postman. The Postman and Abby, closely followed by young carriers Eddie, Ponytail and Billy, travel to Bridge City. When Bethlehem's scouts catch up, the mayor helps the Postman escape on a cable car to find volunteers for a resistance army. Before leaving, he and Abby reciprocate their feelings and fall in love.
In a recitation of King Henry V's speech prior to the Siege of Harfleur, the Postman rallies himself and his troops to war. The mounted Carriers and Holnists meet across a field. Knowing the casualties will be great if the armies meet in battle, the Postman instead challenges Bethlehem for leadership, with their troops as witnesses. The Postman wins the fight but spares Bethlehem's life to maintain morale. Bethlehem tries to attack the Postman from behind but is shot dead by his own lieutenant, Col. Getty. Getty then surrenders, and the rest of the Holnists follow his lead.
Thirty years later, the Postman's grown daughter, accompanied by other public figures and servicemen (including postal workers), speaks at a ceremony unveiling a bronze statue by territorial waters in St. Rose, Oregon in tribute to her father, who has recently died (19732043). Her speech, along with modern clothing and technology, reveal that the Postman and his mail carriers' actions have helped rebuild the United States.
Cast
* Kevin Costner as The Postman
* Will Patton as General Bethlehem
* Larenz Tate as Ford Lincoln Mercury
* Olivia Williams as Abby
* James Russo as Captain Idaho
* Tom Petty as Bridge City Mayor
* Daniel von Bargen as Pineview Sheriff Briscoe
* Scott Bairstow as Luke
* Giovanni Ribisi as Bandit 20
* Roberta Maxwell as Irene March
* Joe Santos as Colonel Getty
* Ron McLarty as Old George
* Brian Anthony Wilson as Woody
* Peggy Lipton as Ellen March
* Rex Linn as Mercer
* Shawn Hatosy as Billy
* Ryan Hurst as Eddie March
* Charles Esten as Michael
* Ty O'Neal as Drew
* Tom Bower as Larry
* Mary Stuart Masterson as Hope, Postman's Daughter (uncredited)
Production
On his personal website, author David Brin reveals that while studios were bidding for 'The Postman', his wife decided during a screening of 'Field of Dreams' that Kevin Costner should portray 'The Postman'. Brin agreed that the emotions evoked by 'Field of Dreams' matched the message he intended to deliver with his novel. A decade later, after learning Costner would be cast as the lead, Brin said he was "thrilled". Costner discarded the old screenplay (in which the moral message of the novel had been reversed) and hired screenwriter Brian Helgeland; Brin says the two of them "rescued the 'soul' of the central character" and reverted the story's message back to one of hope. Costner supposedly passed on the lead role in 'Air Force One' to work on 'The Postman'.
In an interview with 'Metro' before filming began, Brin expressed his hope that 'The Postman' would have the "pro-community feel" of 'Field of Dreams' instead of the 'Mad Max' feel of Costner's other post-apocalyptic film 'Waterworld'. Brin said that, unlike typical post-apocalyptic movies that satisfy "little-boy wish fantasies about running amok in a world without rules", the intended moral of 'The Postman' is that "if we lost our civilization, we'd all come to realize how much we missed it, and would realize what a miracle it is simply to get your mail every day."
'The Postman' was filmed in Metaline Falls and Fidalgo Island, Washington; central Oregon; and southern Arizona around Tucson and Nogales. Metaline Falls is the location for the community of Pineview in the film.
Despite the film performing disastrously at two test screenings, Costner refused Warner Bros.' appeals that he edit it down from its then-massive three hour running time.
Music
Reception
Box office
The film was a notable failure at the box office. The first four days after opening brought in only $5.3 million on 2,207 screens. Produced on an estimated $80 million budget, it returned less than $21 million.The film was subsequently released on VHS and DVD on June 9, 1998, and on Blu-ray Disc on September 8, 2009.
Critical response
'The Postman' received heavily negative reviews from critics. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 8% based on 36 reviews, with an average rating of 4.00/10. The site's consensus states: "A massive miscalculation in self-mythologizing by director and star Kevin Costner, 'The Postman' would make for a goofy good time if it weren't so fatally self-serious." Metacritic gives the film a score of 29 out of 100 based on 14 reviews, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.Stephen Holden of 'The New York Times' criticized the movie for its "bogus sentimentality" and "mawkish jingoism". Roger Ebert described 'The Postman' as a failed yet noble effort at a parable, being "goofy", "pretentious", and "way too long", yet "good-hearted". He criticized Costner's putting himself in the lead role, arguing that such roles should be cast against type and that Costner had played too many similar roles in past films. On 'Siskel & Ebert', Ebert and Gene Siskel gave the film "two thumbs down", with Siskel calling it "Dances with 'Myself'" (in reference to Costner's Oscar-winning film 'Dances with Wolves') while referring to the bronze statue scene."Week of December 27, 1997" (1997). Television: 'Siskel & Ebert'. Burbank: Buena Vista Television.
Costner defended the film: "I always thought it was a really good movie! I always thought I probably started it wrong. I should have said something like 'once upon a time.' Because it was just like a modern-day fairy tale it wraps itself up with a storybook ending with the statue. You know, I thought it was a pretty funny movie set against the idea of a Superman somebody stepping up. But in this case, its a very humble guy who's nothing but a liar [laughs] delivers mail and burns half of it just to stay alive. So, I like the movie."
Accolades
References
Further reading
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