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 Postman’s 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 (1973–2043). Her speech, along with modern clothing and technology, reveal that the Postman and his mail carriers' actions have helped rebuild the United States.