While this movie has not met with good reviews over the time, The Best of Me remains a heart-wrenching tale, a romance with dramatic twists and with some positive messages, most notably the power of forgiveness and the importance of being with someone who brings out the best in you. It revolves around a second chance at true love as high-school sweethearts are reunited after 20 years.
The Best of Me tells the story of Dawson and Amanda who find themselves reunited when they return to their small town for the funeral of a mutual friend. Their bittersweet reunion reignites but soon they discover that the forces that drove them apart twenty years ago live on, posing even more serious threats today. This epic love story captures the enduring power of our first true love, and the wrenching choices we face when confronted with elusive second chances.
It is a very sweet love story. As we watch the plot unfold between Amanda and Dawson as adults, we are given flashbacks to them as teenagers, whose actions lead to where they find themselves today.
“The Best of Me” has a great cast: the couple James Marsden and Michelle Monaghan, who play the current version of our star-crossed lovers and Luke Bracey and Liana Liberato as their 1992 teenaged selves. All four are charismatic and easy to watch, with a natural and engaging connection inside both couples regardless of timeline.
This film takes some getting used to and some further consideration beyond what’s happening on the surface. It might just seem like another Romance, but if you give it a bit of thought you discover there`s more to it than that. The film challenged a lot conventions. It’s interesting, to say the very least, and is well worth the watch.