The 18 best sad movies on Amazon Prime Video

Affliction (1998)

This bleak crime drama, adapted from the Russell Banks novel of the same name, is all about the cycles of violence within a family. Nick Nolte stars as Wade, a small-town New England cop who has a strained relationship with his daughter and ex-wife. He soon becomes consumed by a suicide case he believes could actually be a cover-up for murder, leading him down a dark path that’s only exacerbated by tension with his mean-spirited father (James Coburn, in an Oscar-winning performance). EW’s critic praises Affliction as an “exquisitely shaped, paced, painted, and edited production,” dubbing it “a beautiful bummer, a magnificent feel-bad movie.” —Kevin Jacobsen

Where to watch Affliction: Amazon Prime Video

EW grade: A

Director: Paul Schrader

Cast: Nick Nolte, Sissy Spacek, James Coburn, Willem Dafoe, Mary Beth Hurt

Beautiful Boy (2018)

Timothée Chalamet stars in this semi-biographical portrait of New York Times columnist David Sheff (Steve Carell​​) and his son, Nic (Chalamet), who has a substance abuse disorder. Directed by Felix van Groeningen, the film is resolutely hard-nosed but not without moments of levity and an ultimately redemptive arc for its young lead. 

Groeningen wisely universalizes a story that could have played as a privileged, unpigmented vision of drug addiction. There’s nothing in Beautiful Boy you haven’t seen before, but the notes are played with such humanism that it still stands on its own two feet. —Declan Gallagher

Where to watch Beautiful Boy: Amazon Prime Video

Director: Felix van Groeningen

Cast: Steve Carell, Timothée Chalamet, Maura Tierney, Amy Ryan

Bicycle Thieves (1948)

This third-ever Oscar winner for Best International Feature Film is a simple tale that packs a huge punch. Set in post-WWII Rome, Bicycle Thieves centers on a humble family man named Antonio (Lamberto Maggiorani) who lands a new job that requires a bicycle. After shelling out enough money to pay for one, his first day on the job goes horribly wrong as a thief absconds with the bike when he’s not looking. What follows is a heartbreaking tale of Antonio and his son desperately searching for the stolen bike, with director Vittorio De Sica offering a profound commentary on the plight of the workingman. —K.J.

Where to watch Bicycle Thieves: Amazon Prime Video

Director: Vittorio De Sica

Cast: Lamberto Maggiorani, Enzo Staiola, Lianella Carell

The Big Sick (2017)

Michael Showalter​​ cemented himself as a journeyman director with this understated romantic dramedy based on co-writers Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon’s love story. Nanjiani plays a version of himself, a struggling Pakistani comic who meets young American student Emily (Zoe Kazan) when she heckles him during his act. The two begin a tentative romance, aware of their disparate cultures, but things take a dark turn when Emily is diagnosed with a rare disorder. 

Showalter and his crew turn up the emotional honesty in this tremendously effective feature, which never loses sight of the absurd comedy within this deathly serious situation. —D.G.

Where to watch The Big Sick: Amazon Prime Video

Director: Michael Showalter

Cast: Kumail Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Holly Hunter, Ray Romano, Anupam Kher

Biutiful (2010)

Alejandro G. Iñárritu has specialized in a certain kind of grim cinema over the years, from 21 Grams (2003) to The Revenant (2015), but this 2010 drama remains one of his most affecting. Javier Bardem stars as Uxbal, a father living in Barcelona who is diagnosed with terminal cancer. Given only a few months to live, he tries to provide a better future for his kids, but finds his life going from bad to worse as he tries to help a group of illegal immigrants. While often unrelenting in its bleakness, Biutiful is made effective by Bardem’s subtly heartbreaking performance, which earned him an Oscar nomination. —K.J.

Where to watch Biutiful: Amazon Prime Video

Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu

Cast: Javier Bardem

The Iron Claw (2023)

The true story of the Von Erich wrestling family was so unrelentingly tragic that when The Iron Claw finally got made, director Sean Durkin opted to leave one brother out entirely. (He later told EW that that call was “one of the toughest decisions I had to make.”) The film has more than its share of anguish, but that’s no reason for audiences to avoid it. There’s joy in the bonds of brotherhood shared between the Von Erichs, in and out of the ring, even amid their darkest moments. And the movie makes room for hope, particularly embodied by Kevin (Zac Efron, in a career-best performance). —K.J.

Where to watch The Iron Claw: Amazon Prime Video

Director: Sean Durkin

Cast: Zac Efron, Harris Dickinson, Lily James, Jeremy Allen White, Maura Tierney

It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

It’s a Wonderful Life is a cherished Christmas classic, one that’s a step above other holiday movies for its themes. After all, the entire premise centers on George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart) wanting to jump off a bridge and end his life after a series of unfortunate events that lead him to believe he’s worthless. But, after a guardian angel intervenes, George sees that he’s made a far more positive impact than he ever imagined.

A touching tribute to the value of family and community, It’s a Wonderful Life offers a rollercoaster of emotions that leaves you with happy, grateful tears by its cathartic conclusion. —K.J.

Where to watch It’s a Wonderful Life: Amazon Prime Video

Director: Frank Capra

Cast: Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Henry Travers

Last Flag Flying (2017)

Richard Linklater’s tale of Vietnam vets (Bryan Cranston, Laurence Fishburne) making a cross-country journey to bury the young son of one of their number (Steve Carell) is by turns somber and spirited, but always represents the very best of what the director is capable of. He’s a filmmaker who can find uncommon depth and lingering beauty in the smallest of life’s moments. 

Here, Linklater eschews the overwrought trappings that these types of movies typically fall into. There’s no rah-rah patriotism; there’s no epic grandstanding. There’s just a pervasive sense of loss, of lives torn asunder for no particular reason, and a cast highly adept at delivering these punches. —D.G.

Where to watch Last Flag Flying: Amazon Prime Video

EW grade: B

Director: Richard Linklater

Cast: Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston, Laurence Fishburne, Yul Vazquez, Cicely Tyson

Manchester by the Sea (2016)

Kenneth Lonergan’s scorched-earth domestic drama stars an Oscar-winning Casey Affleck as a ne’er-do-well repairman called back to the sleepy Massachusetts hamlet of his youth to care for his nephew (Lucas Hedges) after his brother’s (Kyle Chandler) death. Lonergan pitches this film at an occasionally hysterical level, but he never lets the material get away from him, nor does it descend into pieties. 

Affleck excels here in a tremendously off-putting role (seemingly the one he was born to play), but the film’s most cogent, exciting moments come when Lonergan splits off to show us the town’s bizarre side characters. —D.G.

Where to watch Manchester by the Sea: Amazon Prime Video

Director: Kenneth Lonergan

Cast: Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Kyle Chandler, Lucas Hedges

Never Let Me Go (2010)

Based on the devastating dystopian novel of the same name by Kazuo Ishiguro, this wistful drama explores the lives of Kathy, Tommy, and Ruth, three friends who grow up at a boarding school. While a love triangle eventually develops, this romantic drama tells an entirely more complicated story than you might expect, as we learn that Kathy, Tommy, and Ruth share a secret about how — and why — they’re alive. Bolstered by weighty performances from Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield, and Keira Knightley, the film dives into heavy themes of mortality and ethics with striking clarity. —K.J.

Where to watch Never Let Me Go: Amazon Prime Video

Director: Mark Romanek

Cast: Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley, Andrew Garfield

Nickel Boys (2024)

Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel is an emotional wallop, putting us in the mind of a Black teenager experiencing racism and abuse at a reform school in 1960s Florida. This Oscar-nominated adaptation brilliantly brings that perspective to life, shot entirely in first-person point of view in a way that feels overwhelmingly immersive, not gimmicky. “Nickel Boys is a fragmented film, so much so that it can be difficult to grasp it,” notes EW’s critic. “But at a certain point, it turns around and grabs you instead, refusing to let go until you’re left sitting in a startling and stunned silence.” —K.J.

Where to watch Nickel Boys: Amazon Prime Video

EW grade: A–

Director: RaMell Ross

Cast: Ethan Herisse, Brandon Wilson, Hamish Linklater, Fred Hechinger, Daveed Diggs, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor

Short Term 12 (2013)

Destin Daniel Cretton’s debut feature concerns a group of counselors (headed by Brie Larson’s Grace) at a home for at-risk teens who must deal with their own traumatic pasts while shepherding their patients to a brighter future. A modern indie favorite, Short Term 12 announced Cretton, Larson, and LaKeith Stanfield as major talents in their respective fields.

This is a movie that subverts and morphs the audience’s expectations with great intelligence at each turn. Its twists are as shocking as those in a conventional thriller, and Cretton is a master of selling emotions and entire character arcs with a single shot. —D.G.

Where to watch Short Term 12: Amazon Prime Video

Director: Destin Daniel Cretton

Cast: Brie Larson, John Gallagher Jr., Kaitlyn Dever, Rami Malek, LaKeith Stanfield

Sound of Metal (2020)

Riz Ahmed stars in this moving indie drama as Ruben, a heavy metal drummer grappling with sudden hearing loss. The musician, who also has a substance abuse disorder, enters a rehab shelter treating deaf recovering addicts. Desperate to regain any semblance of the life he led before, Ruben struggles to accept what he cannot change, despite the best efforts of the shelter’s leader (Paul Raci). 

Featuring a soul-bearing performance by Ahmed and an Oscar-winning sound design that takes us inside Ruben’s mind, Sound of Metal is a quietly powerful experience. “As Ruben’s fear and rage begins to open itself to the unknown, the movie reaches toward something profound,” writes EW’s critic, “finding real, furious power in the spaces between the sound.” —K.J.

Where to watch Sound of Metal: Amazon Prime Video

EW grade: A–

Director: Darius Marder

Cast: Riz Ahmed, Olivia Cooke, Paul Raci, Lauren Ridloff, Mathieu Amalric

Thirteen Lives (2022)

Ron Howard’s unabashed weepy reconstructs the daring true-story rescue of young Thai soccer players and their coaches after they become trapped inside a cave amidst heavy flooding. As the divers tasked with rescuing the stranded team, Viggo Mortensen, Colin Farrell, and Joel Edgerton give committed, un-showy performances.

With the precision of a great documentarian and the pace of an expert thriller director, Howard mounts an enviably well-rounded procedural dramatization of a story that captivated headlines in 2018. There are moments in Thirteen Lives that have such verisimilitude you’d swear you’re watching actual footage of the event. —D.G.

Where to watch Thirteen Lives: Amazon Prime Video

EW grade: B

Director: Ron Howard

Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Colin Farrell, Joel Edgerton, Tom Bateman

Till (2022)

The lynching of 14-year-old Emmett Till in 1955 is considered a turning point in America’s shameful mistreatment of and violence against the Black community. This stirring biopic dramatizes the steps taken by Emmett’s mother, Mamie Till-Mobley (Danielle Deadwyler), to seek justice against the odds by bringing the tragedy to the national media, helping spur the Civil Rights Act of 1957. EW’s critic praises Deadwyler’s performance for her “haunting immediacy,” with Mamie’s “grief and fury and fierce dignity passing across her face in annihilating waves.” —K.J.

Where to watch Till: Amazon Prime Video

EW grade: B

Director: Chinonye Chukwu

Cast: Danielle Deadwyler, Jalyn Hall, Frankie Faison, Haley Bennett, Whoopi Goldberg

A Walk to Remember (2002)

This early-2000s weepie was one of the first Nicholas Sparks adaptations that connected with audiences. Shane West stars as Landon, a rebellious high schooler who connects with Jamie (Mandy Moore), the local reverend’s daughter. Though they come from vastly different worlds, their romance grows, only for Jamie to reveal a heartbreaking truth that will change their future. The film fully wears its heart on its sleeve, telling an earnest (if familiar) story of love and commitment through hardship. —K.J.

Where to watch A Walk to Remember: Amazon Prime Video

Director: Adam Shankman

Cast: Shane West, Mandy Moore, Peter Coyote, Daryl Hannah

We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)

There’s bleak, and then there’s We Need to Talk About Kevin. This harrowing psychological drama probably won’t provoke tears, but its depiction of a mother trying to understand why she could never connect with her severely troubled son is deeply affecting nonetheless. Tilda Swinton delivers a rich performance as Eva, who feels a great deal of regret over her son Kevin’s (Ezra Miller) heinous behavior, wondering how she could have done things differently. It all leads to a horrific act of terror, as director Lynne Ramsay reflects in sobering fashion how brutal and unknowable life can be. —K.J.

Where to watch We Need to Talk About Kevin: Amazon Prime Video

Director: Lynne Ramsay

Cast: Tilda Swinton, Ezra Miller, John C. Reilly

Women Talking (2022)

Another remarkable entry in Sarah Polley’s filmography, Women Talking centers on women in an isolated religious community who gather to discuss the pros and cons of fleeing after suffering routine, horrific abuse by the men. What sounds like a tremendously tough sit is, in fact, one of the most rewarding, cathartic, and unexpectedly romantic pieces of cinema to come along in decades. Polley’s film is a real tears-pooling-in-your-clavicles heartbreaker, but it’s never depressing and, in fact, rather defiantly uplifting by the end. —D.G.

Where to watch Women Talking: Amazon Prime Video

EW grade: B

Director: Sarah Polley

Cast: Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, Ben Whishaw, Frances McDormand