by Haunani Tomas, Managing Editor

My friends and I decided to watch “The Best of Me” twenty minutes before show time on a Friday night. In other words, there was no time for some pre-movie plot research and I did not read the Nicholas Sparks’ novel.

I was unprepared and completely blindsided for assuming this movie would be a romantic tale comparable to other cliché chick flicks like “Titanic” and “The Notebook”. But, if you liked those movies even the slightest bit, you’ll be head over heels for this heartbreaker. Side note: I am not one to cry in movies or grovel at the cuteness of couples but this movie was an isolated incident.

Dawson Cole (James Marsden) and Amanda Collier (Michelle Monaghan) return to their hometown in Louisiana after receiving news about the passing of their mutual friend, Tuck. Tuck’s will requests the two to fulfill his final wishes together: pack up his belongings and spread his ashes at his cabin

Key word: together.

Flashback to a high school Dawson (Luke Bracey) running away from home, after refusing to help his family with a drug deal, to meet a young southern belle named Amanda (Liana Liberato) for a first date.

Dawson wanders aimlessly to find a place to sleep for the night. He comes across a garage and falls asleep in a sweet classic car.

Tuck finds Dawson the next morning, recognizes that he is the only good Cole in the family and takes him in without hesitation.

The Cole family, notorious for their drug and criminal activity, is the polar opposite of the Colliers: a Kentucky Derby-esque pedigree.

Mr. Collier attempts to bribe Dawson into leaving his daughter. Although we understand Mr. Collier’s desire for his pride and joy to be unaffiliated with the white trash clan that is the Coles, Dawson is an extraordinary exception.

Although they hail from opposite sides of the tracks, Amanda and Dawson are perfect for each other in the way that Mondays are for football and chips are for salsa. They are the type of couple that single sorority girls regard as their (high) relationship goals.

They literally bring out the best in each other.

Obviously, something happens that prohibits this exemplary high school sweetheart love, which will not be discussed.

Fast forward 21 years: while spreading Tuck’s ashes at his cabin, the old couple realize Tuck’s tacit final wish is to bring Amanda and Dawson back together despite their prolonged disconnect of two decades.

“The Best of Me” reminds us of the depth of a first love, the desire that arises when it is disallowed and the beauty of a feelings that ascend a decades.