The Postman (film)

The Postman
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Kevin Costner
Produced by	Kevin Costner Steve Tisch Jim Wilson
Screenplay by	Eric Roth Brian Helgeland
Based on	The Postman by David Brin
Starring	Kevin Costner Will Patton Larenz Tate Olivia Williams James Russo Tom Petty
Music by	James Newton Howard
Cinematography	Stephen Windon
Edited by	Peter Boyle
Production company	Tig Productions
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release dates	December 25, 1997 (1997-12-25)
Running time	177 minutes[1]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$80 million[2]
Box office	$17.6 million[2]

The Postman is a 1997 American epic post-apocalyptic adventure film. It is directed by, produced by, and stars Kevin Costner, with the screenplay 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 United States in the then near-future of the year 2013, fifteen years after an unspecified apocalyptic event that left a huge impact on human civilization and erased most technology. Like the book, the film follows the story of an unnamed nomadic drifter (played by 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".

Released on Christmas Day of 1997 from Warner Bros. Pictures, The Postman was a major critical and commercial failure, grossed a total of $17 million worldwide.

Plot

In an alternate history year of 1998, an unspecified apocalyptic event known only as "The Doomwar" erased almost all technology and caused societal collapse, sending the continents back to the Dark Ages. Pockets of survivors in more rural areas have formed small villages to maintain some semblance of civilization while others have joined militias and warlords that prey on survivors. Horses are the standard for travel, and bartering has replaced currency.

In 2013, an unnamed nomad (Costner) enters the Oregon flatlands, trading Shakespearean performances for food and water. In one of the towns, the nomad is impressed into the ranks of the predominant militia, known as the Holnists and run by General Bethlehem (Will Patton). When he escapes, the nomad takes refuge in a dead postman's mail vehicle.

Wearing the postman's uniform and carrying the mail bag, he arrives in Pineview claiming to be a postman from the newly restored US government. The Postman inspires a teenager named Ford Lincoln Mercury (Larenz Tate) and swears him into the postal service. The Postman also meets Abby (Olivia Williams). 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 Postman’s tales of a restored government and becomes afraid of losing power if word spreads. He burns the American flag and post office, kills Abby’s husband, kidnaps Abby, and attacks the town of Benning. The Postman surrenders, but Abby saves him from execution, and the two escape into the surrounding mountains. A pregnant Abby and a seriously-wounded Postman ride out the winter in an abandoned cabin.

When spring arrives, they cross the range and run into a girl, who claims to be a postal carrier. She reveals that Ford Lincoln Mercury organized a postal service based on the Postman's story. 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 mostly teenagers pitted against a better-equipped enemy. In the face of mounting casualties, the Postman orders everyone 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 redoubles his efforts to find the Postman. The Postman, Abby, and a small group of postal carriers travel to Bridge City. When Bethlehem's scouts catch up, the enclave leader Tom Petty (played by himself) helps the Postman to escape on a cable car to find volunteers for another army.

In a recitation of King Henry V's speech prior to the Siege of Harfleur, the Postman rallies himself and his troops to war. Bethlehem and his army meet the Postman's army across a field. Knowing the casualties will be great if the armies meet in battle, the Postman instead challenges Bethlehem for Holnist leadership, with their respective troops as witnesses. The Postman wins the fight with inspiration from the "Neither snow nor rain" inscription, and offers Bethlehem a chance to build a new, peaceful world. Bethlehem lunges to shoot the Postman but is shot by his former first officer. The officer surrenders, and the rest of the militia follows.

Thirty years later, in 2043, the Postman's grown daughter (Mary Stuart Masterson) speaks at a ceremony unveiling a statue in tribute to her late father. The modern clothing and technology show that the Postman's actions have rebuilt the United States and possibly the other nations of the world.

Cast

Soundtrack

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.^[3] 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".^[3] 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.^[3]

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."^[4]

The Postman was filmed in Metaline Falls and Fidalgo Island, Washington; central Oregon; and southern Arizona around Tucson and Nogales.

Reception

Critical response

The Postman received overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics.

Stephan Holden of The New York Times criticized the movie for its "bogus sentimentality" and "mawkish jingoism".^[5] Roger Ebert described The Postman as "good-hearted" yet "goofy... and pretentious". However, Ebert recognized the movie as a failed parable, for which he said the viewers "shouldn't blame them for trying".^[6] 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.^[7]

According to review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 3 out of 32 film critics gave the film a positive review, with a "Rotten" score of 9% and an average rating of 3.8/10.^[8] Metacritic gives the film a metascore of 29 out of 100 based on 14 reviews.

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.^[9] Produced on an estimated $80 million budget, it returned less than $18 million.^[10]

The film was subsequently released on VHS and DVD on June 9, 1998, and on Blu-ray Disc on September 8, 2009.

Awards and nominations

References

• Parish, James Robert (2006), Fiasco – A History of Hollywood’s Iconic Flops, Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, pp. 359 pages, ISBN 978-0-471-69159-4 
• Turner, Barnard Edward (2005), Cultural Tropes of the Contemporary American West, Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen, pp. 267 pages, ISBN 0-7734-6219-8 

External links

• The Postman at the Internet Movie Database
• The Postman at Box Office Mojo
• The Postman at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Postman at Metacritic