The Best Of Me. Trailer Watch movie. When becoming members of the site, you could use the full range of functions and enjoy the most exciting films. Register Back to login. We will send authorize code to your email. Please fill your email to form below. Amanda and Dawson are soul mates who met as teens and were from different backgrounds. But circumstances would force them to part ways. 20 years later they are brought back together by the passing of a mutual friend.

As presented in the opening scenes of the latest Nicholas Sparks adaptation The Best of Me, Dawson Cole, the film’s male protagonist, is the Nicholas Sparks–iest character you could imagine. Played as an adult by James Marsden, Dawson works on an oil rig, reads Stephen Hawking books in his spare time, sends cash money home in an envelope, and looks up at the stars at night; he’s a soulful, strapping, wandering, working-class romantic. And of course, he has a soul mate: The beautiful Amanda (played as an adult by the great Michelle Monaghan), now a wife and mother who also likes to look up at the stars, especially as an escape from her raging finance-bro hemorrhoid of a husband (Sebastian Arcelus).

When a mutual acquaintance of Amanda and Dawson’s passes away at the ripe old age of 92, he leaves behind his rural Louisiana cottage to the two of them. And thus, we learn of what happened lo these many years ago — how Amanda and Dawson came together, and what drove them apart. As these tales go, what we find out is not particularly melodramatic at first, though it is predictable. Amanda (played as a teen by Liana Liberato) was a beautiful, wealthy, headstrong, popular girl. Dawson (played as a teen by Luke Bracey, who looksso comically unlike James Marsden that it’s legitimately distracting) was a long-haired outcast from the wrong side of the tracks, with a white-trash family that looked like a gang of 19th-century train robbers. Both of them, however, wanted more out of life. Dawson liked to read physics textbooks on water towers by himself while the sun was setting; Amanda wanted to go to Tulane and study child psychology and public policy.

As I will never tire of saying, these things live or die by the chemistry of their leads. And both sets of leads — both the young and “old” versions of Amanda and Dawson — seem like they belong together. In particular, Monaghan strikes a good balance between regret and anticipation. Her wide, observant eyes and half-smile convey her hesitant desire; we sense that this is a woman with a complicated inner life, full of regrets. And just in case you don’t catch that sense of suggested regret, the film makes sure to give her lines like, “I had so many plans! I don’t know what happened!” (This is the point where I feel compelled to note that Monaghan also currently stars in the far superior, independent drama Fort Bliss, out now in theaters and on VOD. She gives one of the best performances of the year in that film; go see it.)

There’s a weird imbalance to The Best of Me that almost undoes the whole movie. For the most part, the film is lush and calm: Amanda and Dawson do a lot of circling around one another, and they spend a lot of time in lovely settings (rows of weeping willows, auburn sunsets, sparkly lakes, etc.) talking about what happened all those years ago … without actually telling us what happened all those years ago. They don’t have to tell us, of course; the flashbacks will eventually do so for us. But that also means that this otherwise quiet movie is back-loaded with wild melodrama; it deliberately goes off the rails in the final act, as both the crazy events of the past and the crazy events of the present converge. The imbalance doesn’t help the movie; it feels manipulative, rushed — as if somebody remembered that, this being a Nicholas Sparks movie, it hadn’t yet hit its Audience Teardrop Requisition Quota.

Of course, movies based on Sparks books are meant to be obvious and melodramatic. That’s why anybody watches them in the first place. But this also mandates that the wild plot twists and the revelations and the tearjerking climaxes be handled deftly; they’re part of the main attraction, after all. And in The Best of Me, the melodrama feels so hurried and half-baked that the end result isn’t just disappointing. It’s borderline infuriating.

The Best of Me is a 2014 American romanticdrama film directed by Michael Hoffman and written by Will Fetters and J. Mills Goodloe, based on Nicholas Sparks' 2011 novel of the same name. The film stars James Marsden and Michelle Monaghan with Luke Bracey and Liana Liberato.

• 3Production
• 4Soundtrack
• 5Reception

Plot[edit]

Alternating between scenes of their relationship in 1992 with their current lives separately, the film shows the story of Dawson and Amanda, who after 21 years without seeing each other are reunited after the death of a friend in common. Despite their attempts, they are still attracted to each other, complicating the relationship of Amanda with her husband and his son, and reviving Dawson's old conflicts. In the ending, when Amanda tells Dawson in a voice message that she loves him and wants to talk to him, she gets a call that her son has been in a car accident. On arriving at the hospital, the doctor tells her he needs a new heart. That same night the doctors told her they had found a donor.

While sleeping, Amanda has a dream of Dawson sitting on the side of her bed when she's awoken by the doorbell being rung by her mother, who has come to tell her that Dawson had been shot by his father.

One year later, Amanda gets a call from her son telling her he found out who the donor was and that maybe she knew him, Dawson Cole. Shocked and happy upon hearing this, she drives back to the house Tuck had left them. It is there she reads the letter Dawson had left her telling her how much he loved her and goes on to take a walk through the garden Dawson had beautifully arranged for her before he died.

Cast[edit]

• James Marsden as Dawson Cole^[4]

• Luke Bracey as young Dawson^[5]

• Michelle Monaghan as Amanda Collier-Reynolds^[6]

• Liana Liberato as young Amanda^[7]

• Sebastian Arcelus as Frank Reynolds^[8]
• Gerald McRaney as Tuck Hostetler^[8]
• Sean Bridgers as Tommy Cole
• Rob Mello as Ted Cole
• Hunter Burke as Abee Cole
• Jon Tenney as Harvey Collier^[9]
• Caroline Goodall as Evelyn Collier
• Ian Nelson as Jared Reynolds
• Schuyler Fisk as Older April
• Robby Rasmussen as Bobby Cole / Aaron Cole
• Julia Lashae as Clara

Production[edit]

Development[edit]

On June 17, 2011, Warner Bros. acquired the film rights to the novel The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks.^[10] On March 15, 2012, it was announced that the studio had tapped screenwriter J. Mills Goodloe to adapt the book.^[11]

On September 27, it was reported that Warner Bros. was in final talks with Michael Hoffman to direct the film, Will Fetters was set to rewrite the screenplay, marking his second adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks novel, and Denise Di Novi was set to produce the film, along with Sparks and Sparks' agent Theresa Park as co-producers, marking Di Novi's fifth film collaboration with Sparks, Sparks' second time producing a film adaptation of one of his novels and Park's production debut.^[12] On July 25, 2013, Relativity Media acquired the distribution rights from Warner Bros., marking the studio's third film adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks novel.^[13] On October 22, Michelle Monaghan was cast to play the female lead Amanda Collier, and Ryan Kavanaugh was to co-produce the film.^[6] On October 24, the studio set the film for an October 17, 2014 release.^[14]

On January 9, 2014, the studio offered James Marsden from the 2004 adaptation of Sparks' 1996 novel The Notebook to play the male lead Dawson Cole, replacing Paul Walker after his death.^[4] On January 28, Liana Liberato joined the film's cast as the younger version of Monaghan's character, Amanda Collier.^[7] On February 12, Luke Bracey was added to the cast to play the younger version of Marsden's character, Dawson Cole.^[5] On March 12, Sebastian Arcelus and Gerald McRaney joined the cast of the film. Arcelus played Frank Reynolds, Amanda's husband and father of her children, while McRaney played Tuck, a widower who takes in young Dawson and becomes a friend and father-figure to him.^[8] On March 25, Jon Tenney was added to the cast to play Harvey Collier, the father of Amanda.^[9]

Filming[edit]

Principal photography began on March 6, 2014 in New Orleans, Louisiana for a 42-day shoot.^[15][16] On April 30 and May 1 the filming took place in the downtown Covington area. Also filming took place in parts of Pearl River, Louisiana.^[17]

Post-production[edit]

On June 27, 2014, it was announced that composer Aaron Zigman would be scoring the music for the film.^[18]

Soundtrack[edit]

The soundtrack album for the film, released on October 7, 2014,^[22] features original music primarily from the genre of country music, recorded by artists such as Lady Antebellum, Hunter Hayes, David Nail, Colbie Caillat, Kip Moore, Eli Young Band, Eric Paslay, Thompson Square, and Thomas Rhett.^[22] 'I Did with You' by Lady Antebellum was released on September 8, 2014 as the first promotional single from the soundtrack.^[21] The band's other contribution, 'Falling for You' is also available on the deluxe edition of their fifth studio album, 747.

The titles and performing artists were published by Taste of Country.^[20]

Commercial performance[edit]

The album debuted at number 54 on the Billboard 200, selling 6,200 copies in its first week.^[23]

Chart performance[edit]

Reception[edit]

Box office[edit]

The Best of Me opened in North America on October 17, 2014 across 2,936 theaters. It has grossed $26.8 million in North America and $9.2 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $35.9 million.^[2]

In its opening weekend, the film grossed $10 million finishing fifth at the box office behind Fury, Gone Girl, The Book of Life and Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, making it the worst opening for a Nicholas Sparks' novel adaptation.^[24]

Critical reception[edit]

The Best of Me has been panned by critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 8%, based on 74 reviews, with an average rating of 3.5/10. The site's consensus reads, 'At nine films and counting, the line between Nicholas Sparks film fans and detractors is clear, and The Best of Me will change few minds on either side of the divide.'^[25] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 29 out of 100, based on 26 critics, indicating 'generally unfavorable reviews'.^[26] In CinemaScore polls conducted during the opening weekend, cinema audiences gave The Best of Me an average grade of 'B+' on an A+ to F scale.^[24]

Home media[edit]

The Best of Me was released on DVD and Blu-ray on February 3, 2015. At the same time, a 'Tears of Joy' edition of the film with a running time of 115 minutes and an alternated ending was released on DVD and Blu-Ray.

References[edit]

1. ^'THE BEST OF ME (12A)'. British Board of Film Classification. October 3, 2014. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
2. ^ ^abc'The Best of Me (2014)'. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
3. ^'The Best of Me (2014) - International Box Office Results - Box Office Mojo'. boxofficemojo.com.
4. ^ ^abSneider, Jeff (January 9, 2014). 'James Marsden in Talks to Replace Paul Walker in Nicholas Sparks' 'The Best of Me''. thewrap.com. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
5. ^ ^ab''The Best Of Me' Adds Luke Bracey'. deadline.com. February 12, 2014. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
6. ^ ^abFord, Rebecca; Kit, Borys (October 22, 2013). 'Michelle Monaghan Joins Nicholas Sparks Film 'The Best of Me''. hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
7. ^ ^ab'Liana Liberato Joins 'The Best Of Me''. deadline.com. January 28, 2014. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
8. ^ ^abc''The Best Of Me' Adds 'House Of Cards' Sebastian Arcelus & Gerald McRaney'. deadline.com. March 12, 2014. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
9. ^ ^ab'Jon Tenney Joins 'The Best Of Me''. deadline.com. March 25, 2014. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
10. ^Fleming Jr, Mike (June 17, 2011). 'Warner Bros Buys Nicholas Sparks' Upcoming Romance Novel 'The Best Of Me''. deadline.com. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
11. ^Fleming Jr, Mike (March 15, 2012). 'Warner Bros Sets J. Mills Goodloe To Adapt Nicholas Sparks Novel 'The Best Of Me''. deadline.com. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
12. ^Fleming Jr, Mike (September 27, 2012). 'Warner Bros Romancing Director Michael Hoffman For Nicholas Sparks' 'Best Of Me''. deadline.com. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
13. ^Harmanian, Harout (July 25, 2013). 'Nicholas Sparks' 'The Best of Me' Goes to Relativity'. movieweb.com. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
14. ^'Relativity Sets Nicholas Sparks Adaptation 'The Best Of Me' For Fall 2014'. deadline.com. October 24, 2013. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
15. ^Scott, Mike (March 17, 2014). 'Filming in New Orleans: Actors sign on for 'American Ultra,' 'Best of Me' and more'. nola.com. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
16. ^Le, Sarah (February 11, 2014). 'FILMING IN LOUISIANA IN 2014: DINOSAURS AND ROBOTS'. locationshub.com. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
17. ^Chatelain, Kim (April 29, 2014). 'Scenes for 'The Best of Me' to be filmed in Covington this week'. nola.com. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
18. ^'Aaron Zigman to Score 'The Best of Me''. filmmusicreporter.com. June 27, 2014. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
19. ^Bjorke, Matt. ''The Best Of Me' Soundtrack Tracklist & Cover Art'. Roughstock. Cheri Media. Archived from the original on September 13, 2014. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
20. ^ ^abVinson, Christina. 'Country Music Featured on 'The Best of Me' Soundtrack'. Taste of Country. Townsquare Media. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
21. ^ ^ab'I Did With You - Single by Lady Antebellum'. iTunes Store. Apple Inc. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
22. ^ ^ab'Archived copy'. Archived from the original on September 13, 2014. Retrieved September 12, 2014.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link)
23. ^Matt Bjorke (October 15, 2014). 'Country Album Chart Recap: October 15, 2014'. Roughstock.
    • '10 Country Albums - October 15, 2014 - Google Sheets'. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
24. ^ ^abRay Subers (October 19, 2014). 'Weekend Report: 'Fury' Topples 'Gone Girl,' 'Birdman' Soars in Limited Release'. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
25. ^'The Best of Me'. Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
26. ^'The Best of Me Reviews'. Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved October 22, 2014.

External links[edit]

• The Best of Me on IMDb
• The Best of Me at Box Office Mojo
• The Best of Me at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Best of Me at Metacritic