There’s something beautiful about an ugly cry. That cathartic, no-holds-barred kind of release just makes you feel human — and probably explains why so many of us love sad movies. 

From tragic romances to sorrowful period pieces to heartbreaking adaptations of true stories, the best tearjerkers bring the good with the sad: empathy, gratitude, new perspectives, and a comfort that comes from feeling less alone in the face of our own hardships. 

If you’re in need of a good cry, you’ve come to the right place. These 11 films feature tales of star-crossed lovers, grieving mothers, and ill-fated victims of circumstance, all ready and waiting to wet your cheeks and sucker punch you right in the feels. Grab the tissues and your emotional support blanket, because you’re gonna need ’em. 

All The Bright Places

Despite its name, this coming-of-age drama opens dark. While out for a run, Finch (Justice Smith) comes across a seemingly suicidal Violet (Elle Fanning) perched on the side of a bridge. He talks her down, and the teens become partners for a school project exploring their home state of Indiana. As they grow close, Finch learns of Violet’s survivor’s guilt in the aftermath of a car crash that killed her sister, while Violet discovers the terrible truth behind Finch’s loner persona and occasional strange behavior. Will the brightness they find in each other be enough to save them from the darkness within themselves? 

Adapted from the novel by Jennifer Niven, ATBP’s shiniest spot may be its committed cast — with performances that are tender, thoughtful, and, of course, tear-inducing. 

All The Bright Places

1h 48m   TV-MA   2020

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All Together Now

Everybody loves Amber (Auliʻi Cravalho), a high school senior with a sunny disposition, generous spirit, and dreams of studying musical theater at Carnegie Mellon University, the alma mater of her late father. But underneath the huge smile lies a huge secret: Amber and her mom, Becky (Justina Machado), are homeless and living in the school bus Becky drives for work. As their money situation becomes dire, Becky begins accepting favors from an abusive ex-boyfriend who exacerbates her alcoholic tendencies. 

When Carnegie Mellon invites Amber to audition, the girl who gives so much to everyone else will have to learn to accept help herself. With stirring musical performances and sweet cameos from Fred Armisen and Carol Burnett, the film ends on a hopeful note — but, boy, does it put you through it before then. 

All Together Now

1h 33m   PG   2020

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Canvas

Don’t let the animation fool you. This nine-minute short film from Pixar director-animator Frank E. Abney III packs a punch. Since the loss of his wife, an elderly painter can’t seem to return to his passion — he even goes so far as to knock his easel to the ground. His granddaughter visits and regularly shares her own artwork while inviting him to create alongside her, but he refuses. That is until one day, the little girl is exploring her granddad’s house and comes across a covered canvas. When she removes the sheet, both she and the painter realize its contents may have the power to change everything. 

Canvas

0h 9m   G   2020

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First Match

Monique “Mo” (Elvire Emanuelle), a teenager from Brooklyn’s Brownsville neighborhood, has bounced from one foster home to another her whole life. Now that her father, Darrel (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), is out of prison, Mo hopes to move in with him. When Darrel says no, Mo decides she’ll change his mind by joining the boys’ wrestling team, knowing Darrel was a medal-winning champ back in his day. 

Gritty and impactful, First Match won both the Audience Award and the LUNA/Gamechanger Award when it premiered at the SXSW festival. Emanuelle dominates on and off the mat as the tenacious Mo, while Jharrel A. Jerome and Colman Domingo provide standout performances as Mo’s loyal friend, Omari, and tough Coach Castile, respectively. Part inspirational sports movie, part raw family drama, all about an unfortunate truth — that sometimes the people we fight for the hardest don’t want us to win. 

First Match

1h 42m   TV-MA   2018

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Good Grief

Dan Levy makes his feature directorial debut with this insightful dramedy about the complications of love and loss. In the aftermath of his husband Oliver (Luke Evans)’s death, Marc (Levy) discovers some uncomfortable truths about the love of his life — including the existence of a flat in Paris that Oliver bought but never disclosed. In search of he-doesn’t-know-what, Marc heads to France with his two best friends, Sophie (Ruth Negga) and Thomas (Himesh Patel), not knowing they each have their own relationships and grief to sort out. You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. And given the stunning Parisian setting, you’ll probably be pricing out flights on your phone as you watch. 

Good Grief

1h 40m   R   2024

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Kodachrome

As a famous photographer with terminal liver cancer, Ben Ryder’s (Ed Harris) dying wish is for his estranged son, Matt (Jason Sudeikis), to drive him to Dwayne’s Photo in Parsons, Kansas — the last place in the world that processes Ben’s preferred medium, Kodachrome film. Matt, a record label exec in danger of losing his job, agrees only after a promise from Ben’s manager to set up a meeting between Matt and the band that could save his career. With four rolls of film and Ben’s nurse/personal assistant, Zooey (Elizabeth Olsen), in tow, they set off on a road trip adventure with a few meaningful stops along the way.

Inspired by a 2010 New York Times article, Kodachrome is the ultimate reconciliation story, in which a picture’s worth a thousand weeps. 

Kodachrome

1h 45m   TV-MA   2018

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The Notebook

“It wasn’t over. It still isn’t over.” And 20 years after The Notebook’s release in 2004, it still isn’t over. Theirs was an improbable romance, but nothing could have kept Noah Calhoun (Ryan Gosling) and Allie Hamilton (Rachel McAdams) apart. The story takes place across two timelines: in the present, as an elderly man (James Garner) reads Allie and Noah’s story from a notebook to a fellow resident (Gena Rowlands) in their nursing home, and in the 1940s, as the two meet and fall in love. Allie and Noah come from completely different worlds, but it will take a lot more than class differences and disapproving parents to keep these two apart — and to keep us all watching with tissues close by.

The Notebook

2h 3m   PG-13   2004

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Passing

Rebecca Hall’s directorial debut, an adaptation of Nella Larsen’s 1929 novel, is about the intertwined lives of two light-skinned Black women who can “pass” as Caucasian — a plot that’s underscored by the film being shot in black-and-white.

In 1920s New York City, Irene (Tessa Thompson) runs into her childhood friend, Clare (Ruth Negga), in a hotel dining room. Irene discovers that not only has Clare been “passing” as a white woman, she’s married a racist white banker named John (Alexander Skarsgård). John has no idea about Clare’s racial identity, but Clare is willing to risk him finding out the truth in order to spend time with Irene, her husband Brian (André Holland), and the Black community she’s missed so much.

With understated and brilliant lead performances, Passing provides a quiet, mesmerizing watch until a crescendo ending that’ll take you out. 

Passing

1h 39m   PG-13   2021

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Pieces of a Woman

Martha (Vanessa Kirby) and Sean (Shia LaBeouf) are expecting their first child, but when it comes time to deliver, their midwife is unavailable and sends another, Eva (Molly Parker), in her place. During the home birth, the unspeakable happens and the baby dies of cardiac arrest. In the traumatic fallout, the grief overwhelms the couple and extends to Martha’s mother, Elizabeth (Ellen Burstyn). Now the family must figure out how to move forward — with or without each other. 

Originally a play, Pieces of a Woman was created by the film’s director, Kornél Mundruczó, and screenwriter, Kata Wéber, themselves a couple who experienced miscarriage. And its admirers include none other than Martin Scorsese, who was so moved when he saw the film that he signed on as an executive producer.

Pieces of a Woman

2h 7m   R   2020

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ROMA

The first Mexican feature to win the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, this black-and-white drama from writer-director Alfonso Cuarón takes its name from Mexico City’s Colonia Roma district. 

It’s here, during a time of domestic and political turmoil in the early 1970s, that a housekeeper named Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio) works as a live-in maid for an upper-middle-class family. The father, Antonio (Fernando Grediaga), is constantly away for “business,” prompting the mother, Sofía (Marina de Tavira), to suspect he’s having an affair. Meanwhile, Cleo has suspicions of her own — that she’s pregnant. But when she tells her boyfriend, Fermín, he leaves her.

Intensely personal and visually stunning, Roma amassed many accolades following its release, and its 10 Oscar nominations also yielded wins for Best Director and Best Cinematography. 

ROMA

2h 14m   R   2018

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Worth

Imagine having to assign a dollar amount to a person’s life. Then imagine having to do it thousands of times. This 2020 biopic stars Michael Keaton as Kenneth Feinberg — the attorney put in charge of handling the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund. It follows the two-year process Feinberg, his partner, Camille Biross (Amy Ryan), and their team went through to define the parameters of the fund and to get the families of the victims to sign on.

Filled with powerhouse acting and real-life stories about 9/11 victims and survivors, Worth is an emotional experience from start to finish. Plus, it serves as an important reminder that the value of a person can’t be determined by income and algorithms. 

Worth

1h 58m   PG-13   2021

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