The Best of Me

"You never forget your first love."

2014 1h 57m EN

👍

7.5

SOLID

★7.5TMDB · 2,758

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A pair of former high school sweethearts reunite after many years when they return to visit their small hometown.

“You never forget your first love.”

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Cast

Michelle Monaghan
Amanda Collier
James Marsden
Dawson Cole
Luke Bracey
Younger Dawson Cole
Liana Liberato
Young Amanda Collier
Gerald McRaney
Tuck Hostetler
Caroline Goodall
Evelyn
Clarke Peters
Morgan Dupree
Sebastian Arcelus
Frank Reynolds

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Michael Hoffman
Writers: Will Fetters, J. Mills Goodloe
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released 12 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Michael Hoffman, shot by Oliver Stapleton. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Aaron Zigman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Matt Chessé shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Michelle Monaghan and James Marsden and Luke Bracey carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "You never forget your first love.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt1972779 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Michael Hoffman directs. Oliver Stapleton behind the camera. Aaron Zigman scores. Matt Chessé cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 12 years ago.
2Directed by Michael Hoffman, shot by Oliver Stapleton. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Aaron Zigman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Matt Chessé shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Michelle Monaghan and James Marsden and Luke Bracey carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "You never forget your first love.".
7IMDB entry: tt1972779 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Oliver Stapleton
Original score: Aaron Zigman
Editing: Matt Chessé
Production design: Patrizia von Brandenstein
Costume design: Ruth E. Carter
Makeup / hair: Kimberly Amacker
Sound: Lora Hirschberg
Stunt coordinator: Steven Ritzi
Runtime: 117 min · 1h 57m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $26,000,000
Box office: $35,926,213
Return: 138% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: The Best of Me (2014)

Also by

Michael Hoffman

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Reno2016-12-04
★ 6/10
A failed high school romance and one more chance to fix it in the later years. Based on one of the Nicholas Sparks book of the same name. The story of a failed high school romance who meet again later in their lives. But the flashback comes right away after the initial segment to reveal theirs young romance and what made them part away. Between the present and the past, it keeps up the momentum and concludes the tale with a twist. Though you would know mile away what's coming. I did not like all the films based on the stories from the original author. But this one looked okay to me, not so good or too bad. All his films are romance theme, but in this film, that part was very weak. I did not expect that, particularly emotionless when compared to his other flicks. Still, the filmmaking was decent, with the good actors. But the casting was confusing at the beginning for having two sets of actors and then soon it cleared out all the doubts. Kind of supernatural theme, but not a fantasy. Feels a bit long, because the story developments were slow and most of the parts are not interesting. This is not a romance film I was looking for, but different where everything was dragged to the final twist, especially since the accident that happened at the opening. I did not watch it till now, because I did not feel I wanted to after watching its trailer. But I knew some day I would see it and that is now. I don't know what you thought of it, but for me it is an average film. 6/10

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