The Best of Me ( film ) - wikipedia The Best of Me ( film ) The Best of Me Theatrical release poster Directed by Michael Hoffman Produced by Justin Burns Denise Di Novi Alison Greenspan Ryan Kavanaugh Nicholas Sparks Screenplay by Will Fetters J. Mills Goodloe Based on The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks Starring James Marsden Michelle Monaghan Luke Bracey Liana Liberato Music by Aaron Zigman Cinematography Oliver Stapleton Edited by Matt Chesse Production company Di Novi Pictures Distributed by Relativity Media Release date October 17, 2014 ( 2014 - 10 - 17 ) ( United States ) Running time 118 minutes Country United States Language English Budget $26 million Box office $35,926,213 The Best of Me is a 2014 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. Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 3.1 Development 3.2 Filming 3.3 Post-production 4 Soundtrack 4.1 Commercial performance 4.2 Chart performance 5 Reception 5.1 Box office 5.2 Critical reception 6 Home media 7 References 8 External links Plot Dawson Cole works on an oil rig off the coast of Louisiana. One day, an explosion on the job nearly kills him, throwing him into the water. Months later after recovering, Dawson learns that his close friend and surrogate father, Tuck Hostetler, has died and returns home for the first time in almost twenty years to carry out Tuck 's final wishes. When he arrives at his house, Dawson is surprised to find that Tuck also arranged for Dawson 's high school girlfriend, Amanda Collier, to join him. It seems that Tuck 's intention was that Dawson and Amanda would perhaps rekindle their former romance. However, after more than twenty years of separation, Amanda is now married to Frank Reynolds and has a son while Dawson has remained single his entire life. Dawson was born into a notorious backwoods criminal family with an abusive father and more than a dozen abusive cousins. In flashbacks, it is revealed that as a teenager, he left his father 's home and stayed overnight in Tuck Hostetler 's garage. Tuck, a local mechanic who had recently lost his wife, allows Dawson to live with him and eventually considers him a son of his own. Dawson and Amanda attended the same high school and began dating, soon falling in love in a matter of weeks. A few days before the prom, Dawson 's father and cousins beat Tuck. An angry Dawson goes to his father 's house with the intent of killing him with Tuck 's rifle. However, they scuffle to gain possession of the rifle, resulting in Dawson 's cousin Bobbie, an expectant teen father, accidentally getting shot in the head. The police launch a raid on the Coles ' property, arresting all the Coles except for Dawson, who turns himself in a few days after the incident. In exchange for a lighter sentence, Dawson testifies against his father and cousins. However, since Dawson will not be paroled for another four years, he cuts ties with Amanda, forcing her to choose college over staying with him. After Tuck 's death, Amanda and Dawson meet with Tuck 's lawyer and learn that they are to scatter Tuck 's ashes at a cottage he owned with his wife. They have lunch and discuss their plans, during which Amanda learns that Dawson knew she had continued to try to visit him in prison. Later, Dawson and Amanda spend a passionate night together. The following day, after Amanda gets a phone call, Amanda decides to return to her family and her strained marriage, to meet her family commitments. When Amanda goes home, Dawson remains at Tuck 's to restore the garden. He is then informed by his deceased cousin Bobbie 's wife that his young son and Dawson 's nephew Aaron Cole has been hanging around with Tommy Cole lately. Except for Aaron, Tommy, and a few of Dawson 's cousins, most of the Cole family had left the property. Dawson arrived at the property to pick up Aaron, and when Tommy Cole confronts him, Dawson coldly tells his father that he would always be a weakling and a coward. Meanwhile, Amanda later plans to split up with her husband, who had been drinking heavily since the death of their daughter Bea, and she leaves Dawson a voicemail on his phone expressing her love. After she left the voicemail, she receives a call from which she learns that her son had been in an accident and needs a heart transplant. Having lost her daughter already, she feels miserable on hearing this news. Soon her son gets a heart transplant surgery donor. The next morning when she wakes up, she sees Dawson sitting by her side watching her sleep, though he was not actually there. Her mother arrives at the house and is informed that Dawson was attacked by his father and cousins. Though he managed to trick his cousin Abee into shooting Ted in the leg with his Glock and knocked Abee unconscious with a crowbar, Dawson was shot in the chest by his father when he was calling the sheriff. Even though Dawson 's father and cousins were later arrested, Dawson died shortly thereafter of his gunshot wound. Devastated with grief over the loss of Dawson, Amanda attends his funeral along with Aaron Cole and his mother. One year later, she receives a call from her son, who finds out that the name of the donor whose heart he received was Dawson Cole. She later visits Tuck 's house and finds a letter for her written by Dawson in which he says that he understands that she has her commitments and she wants to keep them and he could only love her more for that. She walks in the garden, which has been restored by Dawson, and realizes that he had given her the best of himself. In an alternate ending on the DVD, Amanda leaves her husband and she and Dawson get together and enjoy walking through Tuck 's garden and the end credits roll. Cast James Marsden as Dawson Cole Luke Bracey as young Dawson Michelle Monaghan as Amanda Collier - Reynolds Liana Liberato as young Amanda Sebastian Arcelus as Frank Reynolds Gerald McRaney as Tuck Hostetler Sean Bridgers as Tommy Cole Rob Mello as Ted Cole Hunter Burke as Abee Cole Jon Tenney as Harvey Collier Caroline Goodall as Evelyn Ian Nelson as Jared Reynolds Schuyler Fisk as Older April Robby Rasmussen as Bobby Cole / Aaron Cole Julia Lashae as Clara Production Development On June 17, 2011, Warner Bros. acquired the film rights to the novel The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks. On March 15, 2012, it was announced that the studio had tapped screenwriter J. Mills Goodloe to adapt the book. 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. 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. On October 22, Michelle Monaghan was cast to play the female lead Amanda Collier, and Ryan Kavanaugh was to co-produce the film. On October 24, the studio set the film for an October 17, 2014 release. 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. On January 28, Liana Liberato joined the film 's cast as the younger version of Monaghan 's character, Amanda Collier. On February 12, Luke Bracey was added to the cast to play the younger version of Marsden 's character, Dawson Cole. 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. On March 25, Jon Tenney was added to the cast to play Harvey Collier, the father of Amanda. Filming Principal photography began on March 6, 2014 in New Orleans, Louisiana for a 42 - day shoot. 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. Post-production On June 27, 2014, it was announced that composer Aaron Zigman would be scoring the music for the film. Soundtrack The Best of Me : Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Soundtrack album by Various Artists Released October 7, 2014 ( 2014 - 10 - 07 ) Genre Country Label EMI Nashville, Relativity Music Singles from The Best of Me : Original Motion Picture Soundtrack `` I Did with You '' Released : September 8, 2014 The soundtrack album for the film, released on October 7, 2014, 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. `` I Did with You '' by Lady Antebellum was released on September 8, 2014 as the first promotional single from the soundtrack. 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. No. Title Performer ( s ) Length 1. `` I Did with You '' Lady Antebellum 3 : 15 2. `` Dream Girl '' Hunter Hayes 3 : 39 3. `` Hold On '' SHEL and Gareth Dunlop 3 : 26 4. `` In Love Again '' Colbie Caillat 3 : 31 5. `` The Way Things Go '' Thomas Rhett 4 : 06 6. `` Borrowed Time '' Thompson Square 4 : 12 7. `` Lead Me '' Kip Moore 3 : 50 8. `` Love Is a Liar '' Kacey Musgraves 3 : 15 9. `` Falling for You '' Lady Antebellum 3 : 54 10. `` Rain from Heaven '' Eric Paslay 3 : 58 11. `` All the Way '' David Nail 2 : 56 12. `` Unchanged '' Eli Young Band 3 : 35 13. `` Sweet Jane '' Cowboy Junkies 3 : 27 14. `` Crossroads '' Phoebe Hoffman 4 : 48 Commercial performance The album debuted at number 54 on the Billboard 200, selling 6,200 copies in its first week. Chart performance Chart ( 2014 -- 15 ) Peak position US Billboard 200 52 US Top Country Albums ( Billboard ) 11 US Top Soundtracks ( Billboard ) Reception Box Office The Best of Me opened in North America on October 17, 2014 across 2,936 theaters. It has grossed $26,766,213 in North America and $9,160,000 in other territories for a worldwide total of $35,926,213. In its opening weekend, the film grossed $10,003,827, finishing fifth at the box office behind Fury ( $23,702,421 ), Gone Girl ( $17,511,956 ), The Book of Life ( $17,005,218 ) and Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day ( $11,456,954 ), making it the worst opening for a Nicholas Sparks ' novel adaptation. Critical reception 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. '' On Metacritic, the film has a score of 29 out of 100, based on 26 critics, indicating `` generally unfavorable reviews ''. 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. Home Media The Best of Me was released on DVD and Blu - ray on February 3, 2015. References Jump up ^ `` THE BEST OF ME ( 12A ) ''. British Board of Film Classification. October 3, 2014. Retrieved October 3, 2014. ^ Jump up to : `` The Best of Me ( 2014 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 5, 2013. Jump up ^ `` The Best of Me ( 2014 ) - International Box Office Results - Box Office Mojo ''. boxofficemojo.com. ^ Jump up to : Sneider, Jeff ( 9 January 2014 ). `` James Marsden in Talks to Replace Paul Walker in Nicholas Sparks ' ' The Best of Me ' ''. thewrap.com. Retrieved 10 June 2014. ^ Jump up to : `` ' The Best Of Me ' Adds Luke Bracey ''. deadline.com. 12 February 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2014. ^ Jump up to : Ford, Rebecca ; Kit, Borys ( 22 October 2013 ). `` Michelle Monaghan Joins Nicholas Sparks Film ' The Best of Me ' ''. hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved 9 June 2014. ^ Jump up to : `` Liana Liberato Joins ' The Best Of Me ' ''. deadline.com. 28 January 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2014. ^ Jump up to : `` ' The Best Of Me ' Adds ' House Of Cards ' Sebastian Arcelus & Gerald McRaney ''. deadline.com. 12 March 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2014. ^ Jump up to : `` Jon Tenney Joins ' The Best Of Me ' ''. deadline.com. 25 March 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2014. Jump up ^ Fleming Jr, Mike ( 17 June 2011 ). `` Warner Bros Buys Nicholas Sparks ' Upcoming Romance Novel ' The Best Of Me ' ''. deadline.com. Retrieved 9 June 2014. Jump up ^ Fleming Jr, Mike ( 15 March 2012 ). `` Warner Bros Sets J. Mills Goodloe To Adapt Nicholas Sparks Novel ' The Best Of Me ' ''. deadline.com. Retrieved 9 June 2014. Jump up ^ Fleming Jr, Mike ( 27 September 2012 ). `` Warner Bros Romancing Director Michael Hoffman For Nicholas Sparks ' ' Best Of Me ' ''. deadline.com. Retrieved 9 June 2014. Jump up ^ Harmanian, Harout ( 25 July 2013 ). `` Nicholas Sparks ' ' The Best of Me ' Goes to Relativity ''. movieweb.com. Retrieved 10 June 2014. Jump up ^ `` Relativity Sets Nicholas Sparks Adaptation ' The Best Of Me ' For Fall 2014 ''. deadline.com. 24 October 2013. Retrieved 10 June 2014. Jump up ^ Scott, Mike ( 17 March 2014 ). `` Filming in New Orleans : Actors sign on for ' American Ultra, ' ' Best of Me ' and more ''. nola.com. Retrieved 10 June 2014. Jump up ^ Le, Sarah ( 11 February 2014 ). `` FILMING IN LOUISIANA IN 2014 : DINOSAURS AND ROBOTS ''. locationshub.com. Retrieved 10 June 2014. Jump up ^ Chatelain, Kim ( 29 April 2014 ). `` Scenes for `` The Best of Me '' to be filmed in Covington this week ``. nola.com. Retrieved 10 June 2014. Jump up ^ `` Aaron Zigman to Score ' The Best of Me ' ''. filmmusicreporter.com. 27 June 2014. Retrieved 28 June 2014. Jump up ^ Bjorke, Matt. `` '' The Best Of Me '' Soundtrack Tracklist & Cover Art ``. Roughstock. Cheri Media. Retrieved 12 September 2014. ^ Jump up to : Vinson, Christina. `` Country Music Featured on ' The Best of Me ' Soundtrack ''. Taste of Country. Townsquare Media. Retrieved 12 September 2014. ^ Jump up to : `` I Did With You - Single by Lady Antebellum ''. iTunes Store. Apple Inc. Retrieved 12 September 2014. ^ Jump up to : http://roughstock.com/news/best-soundtrack-tracklist-cover-art/ Jump up ^ Matt Bjorke ( October 15, 2014 ). `` Country Album Chart Recap : October 15, 2014 ''. Roughstock. `` 10 Country Albums - October 15, 2014 - Google Sheets ''. Retrieved 15 October 2014. ^ Jump up to : Ray Subers ( October 19, 2014 ). `` Weekend Report : ' Fury ' Topples ' Gone Girl, ' ' Birdman ' Soars in Limited Release ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 4, 2015. Jump up ^ `` The Best of Me ''. Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved December 18, 2014. Jump up ^ `` The Best of Me Reviews ''. Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved October 22, 2014. External links 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 Nicholas Sparks Novels The Notebook ( 1996 ) Message in a Bottle ( 1998 ) A Walk to Remember ( 1999 ) The Rescue ( 2000 ) A Bend in the Road ( 2001 ) Nights in Rodanthe ( 2002 ) The Guardian ( 2003 ) The Wedding ( 2003 ) True Believer ( 2005 ) At First Sight ( 2006 ) Dear John ( 2006 ) The Choice ( 2007 ) The Lucky One ( 2008 ) The Last Song ( 2009 ) Safe Haven ( 2010 ) The Best of Me ( 2011 ) The Longest Ride ( 2013 ) See Me ( 2015 ) Two by Two ( 2016 ) Non-fiction Wokini : A Lakota Journey to Happiness and Self - Understanding ( 1990 ) Three Weeks with My Brother ( 2004 ) Film adaptations Message in a Bottle ( 1999 ) A Walk to Remember ( 2002 ) The Notebook ( 2004 ) Nights in Rodanthe ( 2008 ) Dear John ( 2010 ) The Last Song ( 2010 ) The Lucky One ( 2012 ) Safe Haven ( 2013 ) The Best of Me ( 2014 ) The Longest Ride ( 2015 ) The Choice ( 2016 ) Films directed by Michael Hoffman Privileged ( 1982 ) Restless Natives ( 1985 ) Promised Land ( 1987 ) Some Girls ( 1988 ) Soapdish ( 1991 ) Restoration ( 1995 ) One Fine Day ( 1996 ) A Midsummer Night 's Dream ( 1999 ) The Emperor 's Club ( 2002 ) Game 6 ( 2005 ) The Last Station ( 2009 ) Gambit ( 2012 ) The Best of Me ( 2014 ) Gore ( 2018 ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Best_of_Me_(film)&oldid=805385535 '' Categories : 2014 films English - language films 2010s romantic drama films American films American romantic drama films Films directed by Michael Hoffman Films based on works by Nicholas Sparks Films based on romance novels Films shot in New Orleans Films shot in Louisiana Films set in North Carolina Relativity Media films Films produced by Denise Di Novi Filicide in fiction Hidden categories : Use mdy dates from October 2014 Articles with hAudio microformats Album infoboxes lacking a cover Music infoboxes with deprecated parameters Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Español فارسی Français 한국어 Հայերեն Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית Nederlands 日本 語 Polski Português Русский Українська Edit links This page was last edited on 15 October 2017, at 01 : 10. 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Question: who kills dawson in the best of me
Answer: his father and cousins