Sometimes it feels as though winter will never end, and thinking about waiting what feels like forever for the flowers, warmth, and daylight to return can make a girl feel a little blue. I needed an old-school catharsis the other day, so I turned to Netflix. Every once in a while, we all need a good cry, so here are 21 suggestions for flicks that’ll bring really bring on the tears. If you think you might not have seen some of these flicks and don’t want the reason you’ll cry spoiled for you (like a few of them were for our poor copy editor, Joanne — sorry!), don’t read any further.
Contents
- 1. The Notebook
- 2. Running on Empty
- 3. Dead Poets Society
- 4. Finding Neverland
- 5. Moulin Rouge
- 6. Boys Don’t Cry
- 7. Brokeback Mountain
- 8. My Girl
- 9. Anne of Green Gables
- 10. Up
- 11. American History X
- 12. Million Dollar Baby
- 13. Rudy
- 14. The Wrestler
- 15. Dancer in the Dark
- 16. Serenity
- 17. Doctor Who
- 18. What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?
- 19. The Man In The Moon
- 20. A Beautiful Mind
- 21. Big Fish
1. The Notebook
I cried and cried when Allie couldn’t recognize her own husband anymore. And don’t tell anyone, but I saw my husband wipe away tears, too.
Source: hanoigrapevine
2. Running on Empty
The movie itself is sad, and so is the fact that star River Phoenix died way too young.
3. Dead Poets Society
I bought this one a few years ago, and ever since, I have been resisting the urge to jump on desks and recite Whitman. It makes you want to live the way 16-year-old kids do when they feel the first bite of passion and buy tickets to Russia on a whim, dance all night, and never ever give up.
4. Finding Neverland
Kate Winslet dies and Neverland becomes so real and beautiful that it aches. And I was already vulnerable to big, emotional tears because the reading I chose for my wedding was from “Peter Pan.”
Source: youtube
5. Moulin Rouge
6. Boys Don’t Cry
I watched this one originally with my transitioning roommate, and we were moved into complete silence as Hilary Swank’s character suffered alone.
7. Brokeback Mountain
Since Heath Ledger passed away, this movie is even more impossibly sad.
8. My Girl
My mom didn’t even want to let me see this one when it first came out. First love is poignant, even without childhood death.
Source: avclub
9. Anne of Green Gables
It doesn’t matter if I’m eight or 28, when Matthew dies in the end, I collapse into a sniveling, teary mess. His kindness reminds me of my father and I can’t restrain myself when he tells Anne that he loves her. This tearjerker is going to be with me for my whole life.
10. Up
This film gets you good at the beginning, sort of like “The Notebook” in reverse. Young colorful love transforms into complex adult affection and adoration, until, finally, Ed Asner is left completely alone when his wife dies. It makes me want to hug my cats and hug my husband and never grow old. Plus, it’s an awesome movie.
11. American History X
This one was a friend’s pick. He says it “always leaves him feeling so empty and disappointed in the world.”
12. Million Dollar Baby
Yipes.
Source: nytimes
13. Rudy
You’d have to be carved out of stone or a robot carved out of cold hard stone not to feel something at the end of this movie.
14. The Wrestler
Double yipes. Truth be told, I can’t even bring myself to watch this one. I dread it.
15. Dancer in the Dark
Even without the swan dress, Björk can be strange and sad, especially when she plays a woman on death row singing herself to the next life.
16. Serenity
I cried gloppy nerd tears when Wash died. More than once. He played with dinosaurs in the cockpit of Serenity. He made me laugh. He was my favorite character in the ‘verse, and he died just as he was — so brave and true.
17. Doctor Who
OK, so this one isn’t a movie exactly, but the tears came out when Scottish sweetheart David Tennant finally died/regenerated.
18. What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?
My best friend and I had a short-lived crying movies club, and this was the only movie we ever screened.
Source: bustle
19. The Man In The Moon
Hardly anyone has seen this early Reese Witherspoon coming-of-age drama, but it’s fantastic. She falls in love with the handsome boy next door and thinks he loves her back, until she realizes he’s smitten with her sister. Then he’s killed by a tractor.
20. A Beautiful Mind
Almost good enough to make me forget what a jerk-face Russell Crowe is.
21. Big Fish
I watched this one in the theater three times, and I made my boyfriend and parents see it. Then I read the book and cried all over again. Well, folks, that’s my list. What have I forgotten? What flicks make you weepy?
Original by: Erica Maxwell
