The Best of Me film
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| Premiered | October 17, 2014 |
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| Budget | $26 million |
| Box Office | $35,926,213 |
The Best of Me is an American romantic drama 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.
Shooting began on March 6, 2014 in New Orleans. The film was released on October 17, 2014 by Relativity Media. Previews in selected test markets were shown on October 15.
The film -- the story of Dawson and Amanda -- moves between alternate scenes of the couple's relationship in 1992, and their current separate lives.
Dawson Cole works on an oil rig off the coast of Louisiana. An explosion on the job nearly kills him, throwing him into the water, but miraculously he survives. After his recovery months later, Dawson learns that his close friend and surrogate father—Tuck—has died, so he returns home for the first time in almost twenty years to carry out Tuck's final wishes, with the deceased's appointed lawyer.
When he arrives at Tuck's house, Dawson is surprised to find that Tuck arranged also for Dawson's high school girlfriend, Amanda, to join him. It seems that Tuck's intention was to heal some old hurt between them. However, Amanda is now married. Dawson was born into a notorious criminal family with its abusive father. In flashbacks, it is revealed that as a teenager, he once left his father's home and stayed overnight in the garage of Tuck Hostetler, a local mechanic who had recently lost his wife, allowed Dawson to live with him and eventually considered him as his own son.
Dawson and Amanda attended the same high school and began dating, soon falling in love. On the afternoon of the prom, Dawson's father and brothers beat Tuck. Dawson, angered, goes to his father's, intending to kill him with Tuck's rifle. However, as they scuffled, Dawson's cousin, an expectant teenage father, was unintentionally killed. Thus, in exchange for a lighter sentence, Dawson testifies against his own father and brothers. Since Dawson would not be paroled for at least four years, he cut ties with Amanda, forcing her to prefer college over waiting his release.
After Tuck's death, Amanda and Dawson meet with his lawyer and learn that they are to scatter Tuck's ashes at a cottage he owned with his wife. Later, Dawson and Amanda spend a passionate night together. They have lunch and discuss their plans, during which he is reminded how she insisted but refused at the time to visit him at prison. The following day, Amanda decides to return to her family and her strained marriage, to fulfill her family commitments.
When Amanda goes home, Dawson remains at Tuck's to restore the garden. However, she later decides to split up with her husband, and she leaves Dawson a voicemail expressing her love. Before anything more can happen between them, Dawson is attacked and almost killed by his brothers, having been almost pushed in front of a moving train. He knocks them out, but after calling 911, he was spotted by his father across the railroad tracks and is shot dead.
Meanwhile, Amanda gets a call that her son has been in a car accident. On arriving at the hospital, the doctor tells her he needs a heart transplant. That same night, as a donor was found, Amanda had a dream of Dawson sitting at her bedside, and when awoken by the doorbell rung, it's her mother, who came to tell her that Dawson had been shot and killed by his father.
One year later, Amanda gets a call from her son telling her he found out the donor's name 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 that Amanda reads the letter Dawson had left her, telling her how much he loved her. She proceeds to take a walk through the garden Dawson had beautifully arranged for her before he died.
Rating: 10 Stars
