Good Movies that are Depressing | The Boneyard

Good Movies that are Depressing

G0UCONN

G0UCONN

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Movies that are good/great that by the end, or maybe because of the ending, left you slumped out or needing a stiff drink to forget....I am sure missing some good examples but first few that come to mind:

Schinder's List
Million Dollar Baby
Boy in Striped Pajamas
Brian's Song
Reservoir Dogs
The Champ
 
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Good call on American Beauty

Haven't seen Manchester by Sea yet
 
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G0UCONN said:
Good call on American Beauty

Haven't seen Manchester by Sea yet
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Schindler’s List probably defines the category, but Manchester by the Sea is up there.

Oddly, I’ll still watch it again because the acting is so great. All three leads are A+ imo.
 
8893 said:
Schindler’s List probably defines the category, but Manchester by the Sea is up there.

Oddly, I’ll still watch it again because the acting is so great. All three leads are A+ imo.
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Agree on Schindler's List but I don't think I saw a movie with a more gut wrenching sad ending than Boy in the Striped Pajamas.
 
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G0UCONN said:
Agree on Schindler's List but I don't think I saw a movie with a more gut wrenching sad ending than Boy in the Striped Pajamas.
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Haven't seen that one or even heard of it. Will have to check it out when I'm feeling up for a gut punch.
 
Two that come to mind are The Mist and Prisoners.
 
Any drama w/ Brie Larson. Short Term 12, Room, and The Glass Castle were all really good performances by her, overall good movies, but not real easy to watch.
 
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Insomnia. Not the Norwegian original, but the remake w/ Al Pacino, Robin Williams and Hillary Swank.
 
My wife would include Life is Beautiful in this category. She was devastated by the second half of that movie. Admittedly, it was quite a departure from the glorious first half, but I thought it ended *somewhat* hopeful.

Speaking of movies with drastically different halves (could be its own category?), Full Metal Jacket probably fits that bill and this one.
 
8893 said:
My wife would include Life is Beautiful in this category. She was devastated by the second half of that movie. Admittedly, it was quite a departure from the glorious first half, but I thought it ended *somewhat* hopeful.

Speaking of movies with drastically different halves (could be its own category?), Full Metal Jacket probably fits that bill and this one.
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Yes on Full Metal Jacket. First half Oscar worthy. When they get to Vietnam I didn't like it as much.

Stripes is another. Gets shaky when get through boot camp.
 
I would definitely agree with a lot mentioned so far: Requiem, Manchester (not even sure how it would impact me now that my first born is here), Life is Beautiful, Precious, Brazil etc.

I always kind of thought that Prisoners ended with some hope for our protagonist if not maybe a little cliffhangery. Moonlight too.

I would add the original Korean version of Oldboy, Kids, The Road (book was better), The Talented Mr. Ripley, and Grave of the Fireflies.
 
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The Ice Storm
The Virgin Suicides
25th Hour (incidentally, the best "9/11 movie" whose plot has nothing to do with 9/11)
 
I liked 25th Hour. Good call.

I have seen reference to it being a "9/11 movie" or tribute and dont get the connection. How so?
 
G0UCONN said:
I liked 25th Hour. Good call.

I have seen reference to it being a "9/11 movie" or tribute and dont get the connection. How so?
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At the time 25th Hour was being produced (just after 9/11 happened), almost every movie was busy pretending it didn't happen. Changing posters and scenes to remove references to the towers, or anything else that might remind people of 9/11.

25th Hour was different. Not only did you have the overt references to Ground Zero, Al Qaeda, etc., but just the general mood of the movie and the characters also reflected it. It had the correct mix of slightly bewildered anger and proud defiance, and that sort of intertwined with the emotions that the characters were feeling because of the plot of the movie.

Basically, if you want to give people born after 9/11 an idea of what Americans (especially New Yorkers) were feeling in the weeks and months after the attacks, that's the movie to show them.
 
iri10 said:
At the time 25th Hour was being produced (just after 9/11 happened), almost every movie was busy pretending it didn't happen. Changing posters and scenes to remove references to the towers, or anything else that might remind people of 9/11.

25th Hour was different. Not only did you have the overt references to Ground Zero, Al Qaeda, etc., but just the general mood of the movie and the characters also reflected it. It had the correct mix of slightly bewildered anger and proud defiance, and that sort of intertwined with the emotions that the characters were feeling because of the plot of the movie.

Basically, if you want to give people born after 9/11 an idea of what Americans (especially New Yorkers) were feeling in the weeks and months after the attacks, that's the movie to show them.
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Totally agree, and then, of course, there's this:

 
I'll second Million Dollar Baby. You just kind of sit there afterward and go "Wait... what? Noooo. But... What the [heck] just happened?"

Grand Torino isn't as bad but that's a tough ending as well.
 
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G0UCONN said:
Agree on Schindler's List but I don't think I saw a movie with a more gut wrenching sad ending than Boy in the Striped Pajamas.
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I'd still put Schindler's List well above Pajamas for gut wrenching. With Pajamas, I thought dad got exactly what he deserved. And the kid really didn't know what was happening, so there wasn't much terror there. Sad, but pretty black and white, where Schinder's List was a lot of grey.
 
It's not as depressing as some of the ones mentioned so far, but I just watched Nebraska. Very good movie (filmed in B&W) about an alcoholic older guy and his son. Lots of very good performances, and a sobering view of the Midwest.
 
storrsroars said:
I'd still put Schindler's List well above Pajamas for gut wrenching. With Pajamas, I thought dad got exactly what he deserved. And the kid really didn't know what was happening, so there wasn't much terror there. Sad, but pretty black and white, where Schinder's List was a lot of grey.
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Yes Schindler is "king of depressing" and gut wrenching throughout. But it had an uplifting, kind of, ending.

In contrast, Striped Pajamas ending was just brutal and I did not see it coming. May have had me most slumped walking out of theater from any movie I ever saw.
 
G0UCONN said:
Yes Schindler is "king of depressing" and gut wrenching throughout. But it had an uplifting, kind of, ending.

In contrast, Striped Pajamas ending was just brutal and I did not see it coming. May have had me most slumped walking out of theater from any movie I ever saw.
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I'll continuing arguing my point :-)

SP was bad for mom, but as soon as the idea of Bruno putting on the striped pajamas was mentioned, I saw the end coming. By the father's reaction, I could easily see him rationalizing it. Screw that guy and everything he touched.

Schinder, OTOH, was having a breakdown at the end. He realized he was a criminal, even though he did some good. When he started talking about how he could've saved 10 lives by selling his car or one life by selling his pin, that IMO, was not "uplifting". Not to mention the Russian liberating soldier telling the surviving Jews not to go east because they're hated there. Or west, for that matter.
 
storrsroars said:
I'll continuing arguing my point :)

SP was bad for mom, but as soon as the idea of Bruno putting on the striped pajamas was mentioned, I saw the end coming. By the father's reaction, I could easily see him rationalizing it. Screw that guy and everything he touched.

Schinder, OTOH, was having a breakdown at the end. He realized he was a criminal, even though he did some good. When he started talking about how he could've saved 10 lives by selling his car or one life by selling his pin, that IMO, was not "uplifting". Not to mention the Russian liberating soldier telling the surviving Jews not to go east because they're hated there. Or west, for that matter.
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Yeah all fair points. For Schindler I was referring more to seeing all those real folks alive today at the end because of him.

Maybe me not seeing the ending coming in Pajamas is why it impacted me more (ending wise).
 
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