The Best Sad Movies on Netflix for When You Need a Good Cry
Grab a blanket and a box of tissues.
We all need a good cry now and then. If you’re looking for sad movies on Netflix that will have you welling up, keep reading. Whether you’re in the mood for a heartbreaking romance, an emotional family drama, or a powerful story inspired by real events, there are plenty of movies on the popular streaming service that will have you reaching for the tissues.
The right movie can offer a cathartic escape after a long day. And if you’re dealing with complicated feelings of grief, loss, frustration, or restlessness, there can be something cathartic about watching a narrative play out that mirrors elements of your own experience. Of course, it can also be fun to watch a movie that has nothing in common with your real life. It can offer a different perspective or simply be a nice distraction for a couple of hours.
From tearjerkers that could make anyone misty-eyed to moving dramas you’ll be thinking about long after the credits roll, these are the best sad movies to watch on Netflix. A blanket isn’t required, but it’s definitely recommended. If you’re looking for a different type of emotional entertainment, check the best romance movies on Netflix and the best psychological thrillers to stream now.
Good Grief (2024)
When an artist finds himself having to grieve the death of his famous writer husband, he embarks on a European adventure to Paris with his best friends. As he unpacks all the feelings that come with loss, Schitt's Creek star Dan Levy's directorial debut is a film full of love, friendship and the ins and outs of a romance that leaves lasting effects on life.
Kodachrome (2018)
Ed Harris and Jason Sudeikis star as an estranged father and son who haven't been in contact in years. But when one of the two gets diagnosed with terminal cancer, it leads to a cross-country road trip with the idea of checking things off a thought-out bucket list. It's definitely a movie to watch if you hope to gain some appreciation for your loved ones,
Beyond the Universe (2022)
This English-dubbed Brazilian film explores the story of a young pianist and the connection she forms with a doctor. But there's one very important element to their budding relationship: he is the medical professional taking care of her as she waits to get a life-changing kidney transplant.
Canvas (2020)
After an older man suffers the heartbreaking loss of his wife, he struggles to regain his passion for painting. This leads his granddaughter to go on a quest to help him rediscover what art originally meant to him, leading to a bond that strengthens the power of family.
Irreplaceable You (2018)
When Abbie (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) learns she is suffering from a terminal cancer diagnosis, she decides to take on the challenge of finding a partner for her childhood sweetheart and fiancé Sam (Michiel Huisman). This leads her on a journey that teaches her how to make the most of the life she has now while she still has time left.
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020)
Chadwick Boseman's final film is based on the August Wilson play of the same name, and was inspired by a real-life blues singer Ma Rainey. The fictionalized story follows the musician's band as they brace for a recording session amid rising racial tensions in 1920's Chicago. The film will certainly pull on your heartstrings, for many reasons other than seeing the late actor onscreen for the last time.
All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)
Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture, the war drama follows a barely-legal adult named Paul as he joins the Western front in World War I. While he initially is thrilled to be drafted, he soon discovers that there are many horrors that come with fighting a war ... all while living in trenches that bring more harm.
The Boys in the Band (2020)
Based on the 1968 play of the same name, Jim Parsons and Matt Bomer star in a film that follows a group of gay friends who attend a birthday party in 1960s New York City. As the men get together to play a drunken game with an unexpected guest, everyone learns unseen truths and hidden feelings that may lead to a breakthrough none of them saw coming.
Lady Chatterley's Lover (2022)
On the outset, this may look like just a steamy romance, but once you consider the thwarted lives of the characters, the sadness really comes through. It starts when Sir Clifford Chatterley returns from World War I unable to walk, causing him to move his family out to the country where he can get full-time care. His wife, the Lady Chatterley (born Constance Reid) then falls for the gamekeeper, which breaks all sorts of societal norms.
Pieces of a Woman (2021)
Director Kornél Mundruczó and writer Kata Wéber based this movie on their own experiences with infant loss, so it's intensely personal as well as powerful. In the film, Vanessa Kirby and Shia LaBeouf play a couple who figure out if it's possible to move on after their baby does not survive childbirth.
A Jazzman's Blues (2022)
![solea pfeiffer as leanne and joshua boone as bayou in a scene from 'a jazzman's blues a good housekeeping pick for best movies 2022](https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/best-movies-2022-jazzmans-blues-1660320214.jpg?crop=0.668xw:1.00xh;0.228xw,0 "solea pfeiffer as leanne and joshua boone as bayou in a scene from 'a jazzman's blues," a Good Housekeeping pick for best movies 2022")
Pick any movie in Tyler Perry's catalog, and there's bound to be a range of emotions in it; he really knows how to swing the dial from humor to melancholy to melodrama. A Jazzman's Blues is heavy on the latter two, focusing on a 40-year-old murder and the secret love that may have incited it.
tick, tick...BOOM! (2021)
This movie is sad for what happens off-screen as well as on. It's based on a play by Rent scribe Jonathan Larson, and it's about his struggles to find success on and off the stage. In that way, it also serves as a moving portrait of an artist who died before he could see his biggest hit go to Broadway. The movie was directed by another Broadway hit-maker: Hamilton's Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Purple Hearts (2022)
This movie follows Cassie (Sofia Carson), an uninsured musician in need of insulin, and Luke (Nicholas Galitzine), a soldier about to be deployed to Iraq. They decide to enter into a marriage of convenience — her for the insurance, him for the spousal benefits he needs to pay off debts — which seems like it'll solve all their problems. But, of course, the best plans never go smoothly, and Cassie and Luke have plenty of tearjerking drama ahead of them.
Fatherhood (2021)
Kevin Hart is known for being a comedian, but Fatherhood is a movie that strives to give audiences all the feels. It's based on the book Two Kisses for Maddy: A Memoir of Loss and Love by Matthew Logelin, a man who, after his wife dies soon after childbirth, has to learn how to raise his daughter alone.
Passing (2021)
Rebecca Hall directs this story, based on a novel from 1929 by Nella Larsen. It follows Irene (Tessa Thompson) and Clare (Ruth Negga), childhood friends who reunite in adulthood. Only something is different: Clare has been "passing" for white, and is married to a man who despises African Americans. Leading a double life — one with Clare, one with her husband — is never without its consequences.
The Midnight Sky (2020)
This movie begins as humans are evacuating Earth as the result of a global catastrophe, so there's a lot of end-of-the-world sadness right off the bat. George Clooney plays a scientist who is one of the few who stays behind, and he forges an emotional bond with the crew of a spaceship as he tries to warn them not to return to the planet.
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I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020)
This movie is ostensibly a break-up film, but since it's from director Charlie Kaufman — who also wrote Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind — it's anything but straightforward. It's sad, confusing, cerebral, disturbing and surreal, all at the same time.
The Last Letter from Your Lover (2021)
Nothing brings up the waterworks faster than tales of lost love. This movie recounts a romance unfolding in the '60s, and a reporter in the present day who uncovers their correspondence and goes searching for what happened to all the parties involved.
All the Bright Places (2020)
Based on the bestselling book by Jennifer Niven, All the Bright Places seems on the surface like a teen romance. But as the two main characters, played by Elle Fanning and Justice Smith, get to know each other better, they reveal truths about living with mental illness.
Marriage Story (2019)
Noah Baumbach's Best Picture-nominated film takes a close, unflinching look at a family going through divorce. From tender moments to blow-out fights, the movie really makes you feel for everyone involved.
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