Film, along with many art forms, can invoke a variety of reactions from the audience. To be sitting still in a theater and having your entire emotional state be influenced by images on a screen is a great testament to the ones who put them together. Directors are conducting a symphony of emotions that regulate from highs and lows throughout a film’s runtime. With a combination of music, acting, editing, writing, and shot composition, the feeling that comes from watching a scene can is subjective to the viewer, but can be very powerful. However, those that leave the heaviest mark on the audience tend to go down in film history.
There are quite a number of films made throughout the 20th century that have given a substantial gut punch to the audience, emotionally devastating movies that can tap into the epic tragedies of existence that humanity has been documenting with art for millennia. However, this is by no means an easy feat to accomplish, and these films are acclaimed because of it.
To have a depressing overtone is easier said than done. To properly execute a heavily depressing message, plot, or character arc is done by grounding the film in the world of the audience, pushing them to relate in some way to the trials and tribulations of their fellow human being. Many films have been awarded for leaving such an emotional toll, but here are the ones who stand out among the masses.
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9 Schindler’s List
Universal Pictures
A Best Picture Oscar winner, a prestigious work of art, and a downright depressing expedition into the world seemingly at its end, Schindler’s List is perhaps one of the greatest films of all time. Focusing on the horrific events of World War II, the audience is given a painful front row seat to see the true story of Oskar Schindler, who saved the lives of over one thousand Jewish workers. Spielberg’s direction and large scale production value allow us to be on the ground level with the characters. The horrors experienced during this time are fully fleshed out on screen, and it is not for the faint of heart. It is one of the most important films ever made, but it is by far not an easy three hours to experience.
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8 Mask
Universal Pictures
Mask is a biographical film about Rocky Dennis, a teenage boy who was born with a deformity of his skull. His experiences as a growing young man are emotionally investing and make for one of the great certified tear-jerkers. With a mother (Cher) struggling with addiction, we see that his home life is just as difficult as his social life. The gut-wrenching anxiety this film conveys makes it a difficult one to get through, but there is truth to all of it.
7 The Green Mile
Warner Bros.
One of the best on-screen adaptations of Stephen King’s novels, The Green Mile goes through the experiences of death row prison guards. Led by Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks), we get to know the inmates as people and fleshed-out characters, some of whom have a childlike innocence to them, and rely on faith to get them through to the other side. These men are face to face with death, and they all deal with this fact in different ways. However, some are more villainous than others, especially the guard Percy Wetmore, one of the most evil, awful characters in recent memory. Their cruel intentions make certain scenes, like one pertaining to a place called MouseVille, weigh on the heartstrings.
However, the soul of this film lies in John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan), and his touch of magic that one must see to believe. While he is also face to face with death, the film takes its time to realize this man’s innocence, which makes the final moments of his life one of the most depressing in film history.
6 Edward Scissorhands
20th Century Fox
While it is far from our own realm of what is known to be true, Edward Scissorhands maintains a certain youthful innocence to it that will forever hold its place as a truly dramatic piece of art. Edward (Johnny Depp) is a child at heart, and does not mean to do harm. But he is a victim of his own hands, and that is meant literally. The things that happen around him are out of his control. However, the one thing he does seem to capture is the heart of Kim (Winona Ryder), who sees the spirit under the scarred flesh. Though seeing Vincent Price give his touching final performance is emotionally heavy, what makes this film emotionally investing is the sympathy for the character who spent most of their life in isolation. His past, present and future is set in stone, or in this case… ice.
5 Philadelphia
TriStar Pictures
While the specific details of the film’s story is fictitious, the history in which it represents is far too real. One of the best Tom Hanks movies, Philadelphia tells the story of Andrew Beckett (Hanks), diagnosed with HIV, who has been discriminated against and fired by homophobic executives. An up-and-coming lawyer (Denzel Washington) takes his case and helps this man advocate for his rights in the court of law. While Andrew makes progress in the courtroom, his health and physical well-being deteriorates as the film goes on. There are many tears shed throughout his journey until the very end, as a man who is dying fights for something meaningful.
4 The Elephant Man
Paramount Pictures / Warner Bros.
There are a select few films throughout cinema history that invoke such raw emotion it can barley be described. David Lynch’s biographical drama The Elephant Man tells the story of John Merrick (John Hurt), a horribly mistreated man who is forced to be at the forefront of cackling sideshow goers. John suffers from physical deformities that affect his ability to go about life unnoticed, until a doctor (Anthony Hopkins) tries everything he can do give him a bit of a better life. There are many moments of shock that all come from how the public treat John, and seeing the man that lies within is the saddest part of all. The Elephant Man is one of the most emotionally sensitive of every David Lynch film, and was nominated for eight Oscars.
3 American History X
New Line Cinema
Tony Kaye’s American History X is branded one of the most controversial films of all time. However, there is a subtext to it that emphasizes redemption. Former neo-nazi Derek (an amazing Edward Norton performance) spends most of the film trying to keep his younger brother (Edward Furlong) on the straight path. The care he has for his brother is the heart and soul of the film. However, throughout all the trials and tribulations, the final moments of this film come with a shocking twist that will leave first-time viewers speechless. It’s an often brutal film filled with despair over the darker parts of the human condition.
2 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
United Artists / Warner Bros.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a film about rebellion. Jack Nicholson’s performance as R.P. McMurphy is the driving force of the movie. He has this powerful energy that motivates all of his fellow companions to fight for their rights as patients. However, with all the power and fight that McMurphy has, it is painfully taken away from him by the oppressors. His mind, body, and spirit is stolen, which is a horrible, but unfortunately too-often realistic, ending to his story.
1 To Kill a Mockingbird
One of the greatest novels and film adaptations of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird is told from the point of view of the children who see a world around them beginning to grow more and more complex. The racial prejudice and the unfair justice that plagues their society makes this a coming of age story for each of them. Gregory Peck holds the responsibility of introducing them to the divisiveness of their world, but he does it in a way they can understand. However, they see firsthand how cruel it can be, and that is what has brought a tear to the eyes of millions who have cherished this film for over 50 years, inspiring countless others to take a stand against the depressing realities of racism.
