The 10 saddest films on Netflix in 2022

An amazing film permits us to slide into some emotions for a bit, sort of like placing on an previous, dependable coat. Generally we search the texture of one thing whimsical and romantic. Different instances we wish a thrill that’ll give us goosebumps. Nonetheless different days, all we crave is the embrace of the nice and cozy and fuzzy. However typically, you simply need to slide into the unhappy, slipping right into a tearjerker for the sopping, snot-sleeved consolation they will present.

cry may be good for you. So, while you’re trying to let free with sobs, we have the right collection of films on your queue.

Seize a field of tissues and take a look at the 10 saddest films now streaming on Netflix.

1. Les Misérables

Primarily based on Victor Hugo’s 1862 historic novel, Les Misérables provides a sprawling tangle of tales of crime, love, ache, and revolution. This transferring film musical (tailored from the West Finish theatrical manufacturing) stars Hugh Jackman as a noble thief on the run from a tenacious lawman (Russell Crowe). Anne Hathaway gained an Academy Award for her tearjerking flip because the ill-fated manufacturing facility employee Fantine. In the meantime, Samantha Barks sounded off for unrequited love and Eddie Redmayne belted out about romance and insurrection. Whereas Tom Hooper’s path of this traditional story has been criticized for its thrives (and a few questionable casting, contemplating the issue degree of a few of these beloved songs), you possibly can deny this sweeping drama will not depart a dry eye in the home. — Kristy Puchko, Deputy Leisure Editor

Methods to watch: Les Misérables (opens in a brand new tab)is now streaming on Netflix. (opens in a brand new tab)

2. Metal Magnolias

Credit score: Zade Rosenthal / Tri-Star / Kobal / Shutterstock

If there’s any film that’s emblematic of the necessity of laughing via ache, it’s Metal Magnolias. The lack of a cherished one is past devastating, particularly when that loss is as sluggish and foreseen as it’s with Julia Roberts’s Shelby, a younger Southern girl whose sort 1 diabetes places her life in danger when she decides to have a child. However the great thing about Herbert Ross’s tragic dramedy is the way it finds consolation and aid in processing grief with comedy. The movie bookends every painful blow with heat, infectious humor courtesy of the electrical chemistry shared by Sally Discipline, Shirley MacLaine, Dolly Parton, Olympia Dukakis, Daryl Hannah, and Roberts. Take Discipline’s iconic breakdown scene, a reminder that the best way to get via the unimaginable tragedies of life is to have folks round you who can break up the anguish with a bit laughter and sweetness. — Oliver Whitney, Contributing Author *

Methods to watch: Metal Magnolias(opens in a brand new tab) is now streaming on Netflix.(opens in a brand new tab)

3. A Monster Calls

Credit score: Apaches Leisure / Kobal / Shutterstock

A Monster Calls is a contemporary fable about loss, struggling, and childhood. In it, a younger boy (Lewis MacDougall) copes with the prospect of dropping his mom by befriending a tree monster (voiced by Liam Neeson) that tells him three illuminating tales in trade for one story from the boy. The film is predicated on the fantasy novel by Patrick Ness, who wrote the story primarily based on an concept from Siobhan Dowd, a author who died of most cancers earlier than writing the guide herself. — Alexis Nedd, Senior Leisure Reporter

Methods to watch: A Monster Calls(opens in a brand new tab) is now streaming on Netflix.(opens in a brand new tab)

4. The Nightingale

As follow-up to her critically heralded monster film The Babadook, author/director Jennifer Kent shocked and awed her followers with The Nightingale. Set in an Australian penal colony in 1825, this devastating drama stars Aisling Franciosi as a younger Irish spouse and mom, whose robust however blissful life is destroyed by the insatiable blood lust of a sneering English lieutenant (Sam Claflin). Her solely path ahead is vengeance, and main the best way is an Aboriginal tracker (Baykali Ganambarr), who has additionally suffered on the merciless arms of the English colonizers. Critics have been shocked however the onslaught of brutality — together with racism, violence, sexual assault, and infanticide — in Kent’s movie. Nonetheless, this grim film would not relish its carnage or make a gory spectacle of it. As a substitute, Kent dares us to acknowledge the true horrors on this inhumanity. So, be warned, this one is not only a tearjerker. Steeped in tragedy, injustice, and wrath, The Nightingale delivers an unapologetic intestine punch. — Ok.P.

Methods to watch: The Nightingale is now streaming on Netflix.

5. Marriage Story

Credit score: Netflix

Author-director Noah Baumbach’s tense story of a pair ending their marriage divided audiences, with some viewers reporting they have been shocked by whose “facet” they ended up on. However crucial reception for Marriage Story was nearly common in its reward of the story’s execution and affect. Leads Scarlett Johannson and Adam Driver have been singled out for his or her magnetic scene work. This clever depiction of intimacy stays a triumph of romantic storytelling, venturing far past the Fortunately Ever After audiences know so nicely. — Alison Foreman, Leisure Reporter

Methods to watch: Marriage Story(opens in a brand new tab) is now streaming on Netflix.(opens in a brand new tab)

6. Items of a Lady

Credit score: Netflix

The Crown‘s Vanessa Kirby stars on this heartbreaking film a few girl whose life is modified eternally when her baby, delivered at dwelling, dies shortly after delivery. Items of a Lady explores the emotional complexity of grief, marriage, and blame whereas telling a devastatingly actual story of loss. — A.N.

Methods to watch: Items of a Lady(opens in a brand new tab) is now streaming on Netflix.(opens in a brand new tab)

7. Different Folks

Molly Shannon and Jesse Plemons star as mom and son on this semi-autobiographical film from author/director Chris Kelly a few younger homosexual man who returns to his childhood dwelling to assist deal with his dying mom. Different Folks finds the humor and wonder within the moments that lead as much as experiencing loss and options considered one of Plemons’ finest performances. — A.N.

Methods to watch: Different Folks(opens in a brand new tab) is now streaming on Netflix.(opens in a brand new tab)

8. The Sky is Pink

The Sky Is Pink is instructed from the angle of Aisha ‘Aishi’ Chaudhary (Zaira Wasim), a woman who dies younger and narrates the story of her mother and father’ lives from the afterlife. It is primarily based on a real story. So yeah, it is fairly unhappy. This Hindi language movie is considered one of many Indian gems on Netflix and is a positive tearjerker starring Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Farhan Akhtar. — A.N.

Methods to watch: The Sky is Pink(opens in a brand new tab) is now streaming on Netflix.(opens in a brand new tab)

9. All of the Shiny Locations

Credit score: Walter Thomson / Netflix

Followers of The Fault in Our Stars will like All of the Shiny Locations, one other tearjerker about teenagers who discover love via their private sufferings. Elle Fanning and Justice Smith ship heartbreaking performances from a screenplay co-written by Jennifer Niven, who additionally wrote the novel upon which the film is predicated. — A.N.

Methods to watch: All of the Shiny Locations(opens in a brand new tab) is now streaming on Netflix.(opens in a brand new tab)

10. Ma Rainey’s Black Backside

Credit score: David Lee / Netflix

Ma Rainey’s Black Backside is predicated on the eponymous stage play by August Wilson. In it, Viola Davis portrays real-life blues singer Ma Rainey over the course of sooner or later of recording for her album, throughout which the non-public relationships between her lover, her band, and her producers spill out right into a poignant examination of race, betrayal, and possession. Ma Rainey’s Black Backside additionally options the late Chadwick Boseman’s last efficiency, for which he gained a posthumous Golden Globe award. — A.N.

Methods to watch: Ma Rainey’s Black Backside(opens in a brand new tab) is now streaming on Netflix.(opens in a brand new tab)

Asterisks point out the entry comes from a earlier Mashable listing.

UPDATE: Aug. 9, 2022, 4:54 p.m. EDT Initially printed on April 2, 2021, this text has been revised to mirror the present picks now streaming.