Sometimes, when the weather is gloomy or we’re feeling low, we crave nothing more than a good cry. And a devastatingly sad film isn’t just one of the easiest ways to release all of that pent-up emotion; researchers at Oxford University say that a good tearjerker also increases pain tolerance by upping levels of feel-good, pain-killing chemicals produced in the brain, too.

“The argument here is that actually, maybe the emotional wringing you get from tragedy triggers the endorphin system,” Robin Dunbar, a co-author of the study and professor of evolutionary psychology at the University of Oxford, told The Guardian.

With that in mind, then, we’ve trawled Netflix to bring you our pick of the best sad movies. From dramas that will hit you right where it hurts, to romances that will make your heart swell, each of these films promises to be every bit as emotional as they are entertaining.

(Un)happy viewing…

Good Grief

Good Grief follows the story of Marc Dreyfus, a man who distracted himself from the death of his mother with a comfortable marriage. The twist arrives when his husband also passes away unexpectedly and causes Dreyfus to face the grief that he’s long been burying, prompting him to go to Paris with two of his best friends on “a weekend of self-discovery”.

Pieces Of A Woman 

In this heartbreaking film, a home birth leaves a woman (Vanessa Kirby) grappling with the profound emotional fallout, isolated from her partner and family by a chasm of grief.

Kodachrome

Matt, a struggling executive, finds his world turned upside down when his estranged father’s nurse shows up unexpectedly in his office. Matt’s father, a photojournalist, is facing terminal cancer and his dying wish is for Matt to join him on a road trip from New York to Kansas to process his last rolls of Kodachrome film before the sole remaining lab closes and those moments are gone forever.

Someone Great

Anyone who’s ever had their heart broken will fall in love with Someone Great. The film kicks off as music journalist Jenny (Gina Rodriguez) is offered her dream job in San Francisco – some 2,572 miles from her home in New York City. But, when her boyfriend of nine years dumps her, it’s up to her two best friends to take her out on one last outrageous NYC adventure.

The Impossible 

Movies about a massively destructive event are always difficult to watch, and The Impossible, which charts one family’s experience of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, is no different. Prepare to sob as the film recounts the true story of Maria (Naomi Watts) Belón, her husband, Henry (Ewan McGregor) and their three children, as the deadly wave tears through their Christmas celebrations and causes them to become separated.

The Green Mile

If you don’t cry for John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan), an innocent man on death row who stands accused of murdering two girls, then you have a heart of stone. A thoughtful, intelligent, and emotionally-draining movie.

First Match

First Match is not your typical coming-of-age story, weaving a tale about Monique (Elvire Emanuelle), a young teenage girl from Brooklyn’s Brownsville neighbourhood, who’s desperate to find a way back to her estranged father. How? By joining the all-boys wrestling team, of course.

Marriage Story

Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson won acclaim for their depiction of a once-happy couple’s struggle through a gruelling, coast-to-coast divorce.

Tallulah

When Tallulah (Elliot Page) impulsively takes a baby from a neglectful mother, she decides to pass the child off as her own. Without a place of her own, she asks for the help of her ex-boyfriend’s mother, Margo (Allison Janney), telling her the baby is her granddaughter – thus beginning an uneasy friendship.

The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind

Based on a true story, this film sees a 13-year-old boy thrown out of the school he loves when his family can no longer afford the fees. Against all the odds, though, he invents an unconventional way to save his village from famine.

Images: Netflix