Top 20 Movies So Depressing You Can Only Watch Them Once
#20: “Come and See” (1985)
Top 10 Movies So Depressing You Can Only Watch Them Once
There are numerous anti-war films out there, but few have the power of “Come and See.” It speaks to the incredible talent that went into its production and the intolerable visuals and themes that it presents. Even the title itself - “Come and See” - acts as a dare, boldly inviting curious onlookers to witness the atrocities it displays. The story is told through the eyes of young Flyora, a Belarusian resistance fighter who experiences Nazi wickedness in occupied Europe. Regarded as one of the finest movies ever made, “Come and See” is an unending nightmare that deftly mixes stark realism and genuine Holocaust footage with surreal imagery. The latter only makes the Nazi actions seem that much more otherworldly and impossible to comprehend.
#19: “Beasts of No Nation” (2015)
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Netflix made a name for itself by distributing “Beasts of No Nation,” a brutal film about a child soldier in a West African civil war. The movie is impeccably acted, with particular praise going towards newcomer Abraham Attah and Idris Elba as the main villain, Commandant. The stellar acting helps sell the story, depicting its characters as troubled people in a very troubling situation. The movie is also filled with graphic violence, including shootings, sexual assaults, stompings, and a particular scene involving a machete. Much of this violence involves minors, as they are both perpetrators and victims. It all makes for a very startling and unfortunately realistic viewing experience.
#18: “Cries and Whispers” (1972)
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You’ve undoubtedly heard of Swedish director Ingmar Bergman, and that’s thanks to his 1972 masterpiece “Cries and Whispers.” This is the movie that finally earned Bergman popularity and acclaim, not to mention a nomination for Best Picture. The harrowing film is about three sisters - Agnes, Maria, and Karin - and their servant, Anna. They all grapple with the impending death of Agnes, and the film serves as a raw glimpse into human suffering, the nature of grief, and the meaning of death. These themes are exceptionally challenging yet profoundly moving, offering one of the most realistic depictions of sorrow ever put to film.
#17: “Manchester by the Sea” (2016)
Casey Affleck was long stuck in the shadow of his older brother. He broke free in a big way with “Manchester by the Sea,” proving with an Oscar that he could stand alone as a brilliant actor. He plays Lee Chandler, a depressed janitor who becomes the guardian of his deceased brother’s son. Like “Cries and Whispers,” this film is all about the process of grief. Lee is a very troubled man who is forced to battle many difficult subjects, including the accidental deaths of his children and the resulting estrangement from his ex-wife. It explores the human psyche through the lens of tragedy, and as you can imagine, that doesn’t exactly make for a great time at the movies.
#16: “Blue Valentine” (2010)
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Quick, name a break-up movie. Chances are that five thousand different movies just flashed through your mind all at once, so prolific is the genre. Well, “Blue Valentine” is to break-up movies what “Come and See” is to anti-war films. It’s different. It’s special. The story, told non-chronologically, concerns the romantic collapse of Dean Pereira and Cindy Heller. Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams are both exceptional as they embody the initial spark of a relationship, the growing disillusion, and the ultimate, painful collapse of a marriage. The nonlinear storytelling is also refreshingly unique, and the contrast between love and loss helps speak on the unfortunate realities and complexities of long-term relationships.
#15: “Leaving Las Vegas” (1995)
People who don’t think Nicolas Cage can act need only watch his Oscar-winning turn as Ben Sanderson in “Leaving Las Vegas.” Ben is a depressed man addicted to alcohol who decides to drink himself to death in Sin City. The subject matter alone is obviously troubling, and Cage embodies Ben’s pain with heart-wrenching accuracy. Making the story even sadder is the fact that it’s partly based on the life of novelist John O'Brien, who wrote the book from which the film is adapted. With realistic acting and a beautiful but painful script, “Leaving Las Vegas” delves deep into unmanageable misery and doesn’t prove nearly as fun as the titular city.
#14: “The Road” (2009)
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The works of Cormac McCarthy will be read and enjoyed long after we’re all gone, including his Pulitzer-winning “The Road.” Adapted to film in 2009, “The Road” follows an unnamed father and son as they traverse the ruined landscape of a post-apocalyptic America. The world is bleak and desolate, and its hopeless nature is hauntingly conveyed through the BAFTA-nominated cinematography. The father and son are also forced to contend with other, less favorable characters who go to some extreme lengths for survival, including cannibalism. The story is all about the human condition, in both its best and scariest parts. And those scary parts are truly deplorable, often challenging the resolve of the best.
#13: “Boys Don't Cry” (1999)
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Director Kimberly Peirce made a masterpiece with “Boys Don’t Cry,” a biographical film about the late Brandon Teena. Hilary Swank won the Oscar for playing Brandon, a transgender man who fatally succumbs to prejudice and transphobia in ‘90s Nebraska. Swank is simply magnificent in the role, embodying all the pain, rejection, and feelings of alienation that the real Brandon Teena undoubtedly felt. Going beyond the surface story, “Boys Don’t Cry” offers a pessimistic view of human nature, showing that dismissal and exclusion are so inherent in some people that they are willing to kill for them. It’s a thoroughly depressing thesis that ends a thoroughly depressing film.
#12: “Melancholia” (2011)
The movie is called “Melancholia.” Not only that, it’s part of director Lars von Trier’s so-called “Depression Trilogy.” So, you know, it’s pretty sad. Like most of von Trier’s work, “Melancholia” is a very challenging film, both in form and theme. It concerns a rogue planet that is about to collide with Earth, introducing concepts of inevitability and existential dread. This dread is amplified through the lens of protagonist Justine, a severely depressed woman who battles mental illness, dysfunctional relationships, and the certainty of death. Kirsten Dunst is a powerhouse, and her strong emotions are mirrored in the film’s moody visual and sound design. “Melancholia,” despite its high concept, is a grounded movie about alienation, depression, and complete apathy in the face of death.
#11: “The Green Mile” (1999)
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When you think of Stephen King, you generally think of haunted hotels, rabid dogs, clown alien things - you know, scary stuff. You generally don’t think of melancholic reflections on injustice and redemption, but that’s what you get with “The Green Mile.” A three-hour epic, it details the final days of John Coffey, a kind man with supernatural powers who is falsely accused of a heinous crime. Said crime is very difficult to watch and absorb, as are Coffey’s child-like contemplations on death row. Tom Hanks is also fantastic as Paul Edgecomb, a prison guard who grows to respect Coffey’s innocence and feels great reluctance when forced to execute him. When that switch is flipped, we’re crying just as hard as the guards.
#10: “12 Years a Slave” (2013)
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With a title like that, you know this is going to be an emotionally-charged movie. It stars the brilliant Chiwetel Ejiofor as Solomon Northup, the author of the titular memoir published in 1853. Northup was a free Black man who was kidnapped in Washington, D.C. and sold into slavery. This story examines Northup’s personal experiences and uses them as a lens to explore the greater implications of that period in American history. It’s a brutally sad, and just brutal, film, filled with horrific violence against Black individuals. There are sexual assaults, beatings, graphic whippings, clubbings, and hangings, just to name a few. It all makes for a very uncomfortable watch, especially knowing that this was a common occurrence not so long ago.
#9: “Sophie’s Choice” (1982)
Since the movie’s release in 1982, the titular choice has been ingrained in popular culture - it’s a scene so devastating that even those who haven’t seen the film are well aware of what it involves. Upon arriving in Auschwitz, Sophie had to make the terrible choice of which of her two children would have a better shot at survival. This revelation alone kills the desire to revisit “Sophie’s Choice”, but that’s far from the only difficult scene. Meryl Streep delivers a mesmerizing award-winning performance, but that only serves to make it more realistic and disturbing. While the movie is required viewing, seeing it once is more than enough.
#8: “Million Dollar Baby” (2004)
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Those ignorant of “Million Dollar Baby’s” massive plot twist surely found their jaws on the movie theater floor when it hit. The movie begins like a female version of “Rocky,” as an aspiring boxer named Maggie trains with a grumpy old man named Frankie. However, the movie takes a massive turn midway through when Maggie becomes quadriplegic after breaking her neck. It then spirals into an emotionally exhausting story of family tragedy and the morality of euthanasia. Clint Eastwood is known for his difficult and extremely personal movies, but we believe that “Million Dollar Baby” takes the cake as his most emotionally upsetting. It makes for a very challenging and depressing viewing experience.
#7: “The Passion of the Christ” (2004)
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Regardless of your religious beliefs, “The Passion of the Christ” makes for such a disturbing time at the movies that seeing it once is more than enough. The movie was criticized upon release for its excessive violence, as a large portion of the running time is dedicated to Jesus’ torture and impending death. Roger Ebert called the movie “the most violent film [he had] ever seen,” while others called it little more than a snuff film. Viewers are likely to remember the horrific violence over the religious themes, leaving little reason to see the movie twice, as its distressing imagery will surely play on repeat in your mind for years to afterwards.
#6: “Grave of the Fireflies” (1988)
Studio Ghibli movies are often exercises in imagination and wonder, but “Grave of the Fireflies” is a harrowing and realistic look into Japanese life at the end of WWII. The movie begins with a wallop, by having us watch as a young boy starves to death. From there, the film never really lets up, jumping back in time to show we got there, in excruciating detail. We witness horrible images of realistic violence, and the slow descent into desperation and death of our protagonists, Seita and Setsuko. The movie is often considered to be one of the greatest anti-war films ever made due to its harrowing depiction of innocent lives caught in the crossfire.
#5: “Precious” (2009)
“Precious” was produced by Oprah Winfrey, so you just knew it was going to be sad. The film goes to places and explores themes that most Hollywood movies would never dare to visit. Precious is a 16-year-old who is raped by her father and becomes pregnant on two separate occasions. Her mother uses her and her, child, who has Down Syndrome, to receive welfare. Precious later learns that she has contracted HIV from her father. And while the movie ends on an uplifting note, the preceding two-odd hours makes for an extremely upsetting viewing experience due to the stellar performances and disturbingly realistic look into abuse and poverty.
#4: “The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas” (2008)
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Any movie concerning genocide or the Holocaust makes for difficult viewing, and “The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas” is no exception. The story follows a German boy named Bruno who befriends a Jewish boy in a concentration camp named Shmuel. We are then made to witness some extremely unsettling imagery, including a vicious beating of an old man and the weakened prisoners of the camp, before the movie ends with the deaths of both Bruno and Shmuel in a gas chamber. Stories about the Holocaust are obviously grim but watching one centered around two young boys is almost too much to handle.
#3: “Hotel Rwanda” (2004)
Called the African “Schindler’s List” by some, “Hotel Rwanda” chronicles the real story of the Rwandan genocide, an event that saw the deaths of up to one million people in the spring and summer of 1994. While the story is generally about hope and survival (Paul Rusesabagina saved 1,268 Rwandans in the genocide), the movie is nevertheless riddled with scenes of extreme violence and hate. While the violence is rarely graphic, the implications are horrendous, and knowing that it was based on real events makes viewing it even more difficult. Some images, like the famous road scene, will stick with you for years.
#2: “Requiem for a Dream” (2000)
“Requiem for a Dream” is probably the most consistently depressing movie of all time. The movie is a realistic look at the depravities of drug addiction, as each character slowly spirals deeper into ruination and regret. Sara becomes addicted to amphetamines and grows manic, resulting in a dismaying scene of electroshock therapy. Harry’s injection sites grow infected and his arm is amputated. Marion regrettably sells her body for heroin. Aside from the bleak and pessimistic storylines, the movie’s imagery is haunting and unforgettable, and the performances are simply heartbreaking. It’s not only one of the saddest movies ever, but also one of the scariest.
#1: “Schindler’s List” (1993)
While “Sophie’s Choice,” “Hotel Rwanda,” and “The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas” share similar themes with “Schindler’s List,” this is perhaps the most painful of them all due the depravity of the onscreen violence. “Schindler’s List” lays it all out and presents viewers with arguably the most disturbing and horrifying account of the Holocaust ever put to film. The acting is also mesmerizing, as we feel every ounce of pain, fear, and disgust experienced by these unfortunate characters. The ending, which features the real Schindlerjuden leaving stones on Schindler’s actual grave, will also leave you a blubbering mess. It’s an undeniable masterpiece, but we can understand if you never want to watch it again.
