The Postman Movie Review

The Postman (1997)

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Written by: David Brin (novel), Eric Roth and Brian Helgeland (screenplay)
Directed by: Kevin Costner
Starring: Kevin Costner, Will Patton, Larenz Tate, Olivia Williams, Tom Petty, Giovanni Ribisi
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
A nameless drifter dons a postman's uniform and bag of mail as he begins a quest to inspire hope to the survivors living in post-apocalyptic America.

Verdict
While it's often criticized, I enjoyed it. Granted, I'm predisposed to like post apocalypse movies. The core concept is neat. Communication by mail is what will rebuild a nation and provide hope. While the protagonist starts as a grifter with a ruse, soon even he can't deny the good he's doing. I was concerned at the three hour runtime, but this is never boring. The movie boasts a persistent hope despite the obstacles and dire consequences. It can be over the top and on the nose, but it's an ambitious movie. People just want to believe in something, and while the Postman's stories are flimsy that's also the point. People are willing to embrace the lie to escape their squalid lives.
Watch it.

Review
This movie guessed at a apocalyptic war in sixteen years. In 2013 our planet is left war ravaged. A nomad (Kevin Costner) wanders the country with his mule looking for food and board. This guy had to be around before the bombs. How did he survive? Now the nomad performs Shakespeare for food. He gets caught while trying to sneak away from the village when Holnists, a conscripted army led by despotic leader General Bethlehem (Will Patton), arrive demanding tribute. Having amassed a considerable army, Bethlehem takes supplies and people from the various scattered villages. Since the nomad is the right age, he's forced into an army that's bound by torture and fear. The Holnists are racist for good measure, just in case we didn't realize they're bad.

The General would have to know the nomad is trouble almost instantly. He doesn't want to be there and doesn't try to hide it. His pleas make no difference, so he begins plotting an escape.

Kevin Costner plays the Postman

On the run, the nomad seeks shelter in an abandoned mail truck. The nomad has always been a grifter, and the movie makes him a nice guy by having him bury the skeleton of the mail man. His new grift is posing as a postman delivering mail. He lucks out with the next settlement. The people are quick to believe his stories of mail and a reformed government despite how unlikely it would be. He's giving people hope and that makes him uncomfortable. He didn't expect it to catch on and he's earning a lot of attention from his lies. Only the leader of the town realizes "the Postman" is a fraud, but even he's willing to chance a belief in the mail. Everyone needs hope, something to believe in.

Will Patton plays General Bethlehem

Just after the Postman leaves the town Bethlehem enters. It seemed well fortified, but Bethlehem gets in quite easily. I don't know if the settlement had a back door or they let him in to prevent a fight. Bethlehem finds out about the Postman and doesn't like it. He knows hope is dangerous, so he hunts the Postman. He appears to have a full army and armaments as his disposal. Did he regroup or does he travel with a full company? I also wonder how he's amassed all these weapons, but the movie just wants an over the top villain to oppose our Postman. The nomad is in the middle of it now with Bethlehem desperate to squash any opposition.

This throws in a romance for good measure with the Postman and Abby weathering the winter in an abandoned cabin as he recovers from wounds. He really is lazy, milking his injuries. When he and Abby venture out, they find a postal carrier.

The lies are spreading faster than the Postman with his story having been polished and various postal routes established. It's becoming more truth, spreading quickly as hope usually does. These various settlements are now connected, and everyone believes that the U.S. government has been restored. The Postman used that lie and others have run with it. The core idea of the movie is smart. Communication is the first step in rebuilding. With the world in shambles people need hope derived from something as simple as a letter.

Kevin Costner plays the Postman

The Postman himself has committed to routes, but part of that is guilt as Bethlehem abducts any carrier he finds as he knows this can lead to a rebellion. The Postman tries to surrender to Bethlehem, but at this point the concept has grown beyond control.

The ending is a bit cute, with the Postman fighting Bethlehem one on one because the Postman was a Holnist. Only a Holnist can challenge Bethlehem. The movie painted Bethlehem as ruthless and dangerous. He doesn't seem like it in this fight, but it could just be stories to build his image. Bethlehem knows the power of stories. His army follows him because it's better than the alternative. While I could complain about this is too happy of an ending, that's fitting for a movie about hope.