By Britton Perelman · October 9, 2023
R.E.M. sang it best. Everybody hurts sometimes. Everybody cries. Screenwriters are no exception. Even though scripts are meant to be blueprints for a visual art form, they can be just as emotional as the sad movies they’re turned into. So, when you feel the need for the sweet cathartic release of crying over a well-crafted script, check out these exceptionally sad movies and download their heart-wrenching scripts. You’re bound to have a tear in your eye by the time you read FADE OUT.
If this first script doesn’t get those tear ducts working, no script will. Kenneth Lonergan’s Oscar-winning screenplay centers on Lee, a grieving, depressed man who becomes the legal guardian of his teenage nephew, Patrick. The situation necessitates a move back to Manchester-by-the-Sea, where a tragedy forever changed Lee’s life.
As Lee and Patrick navigate the complicated emotional landscape of their new lives together, a series of flashbacks reveal the terrible events Lee has tried to put behind him. No spoilers, but if you can make it through the flashback scene that reveals what happened to Lee’s family without crying, your tear ducts must be as dry as the Sahara.
This heartbreaking script centers on the complicated romantic relationship between two American cowboys. Adapted from Annie Proulx’s short story of the same name, the lovers in Brokeback Mountain are doomed because of their respective marriages and the confining societal norms of the time period.
Jack’s “I can’t quit you” speech might bring tears to your eyes, but — slight spoilers ahead — it’s actually not a scene from their time together on Brokeback Mountain that really rips your heart apart. It’s one of the final scenes that will get you, which takes place years later, after one of the men learns the other has died and finally lets his emotions about their relationship bubble to the surface.
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Don’t let this Disney/Pixar movie deceive you. It may appear to be for children, but it’s the adults who will be sobbing by the final scene.
When Miguel, a young boy who loves to play the guitar even though his family has forbidden music in their home, is accidentally transported to the Land of the Dead, he must work together with his deceased great-great-grandfather to return to the living and help his family realize the importance of music. Spoiler alert, but the scene in which Miguel returns home and sings a song with his dying grandmother will leave your heart in shambles.
Maybe you’d prefer more of a historical tearjerker. If that’s the case, check out the screenplay for Atonement, which will have those tears flowing in no time.
Atonement begins with a misunderstanding and spirals from there. When 13-year-old Briony misinterprets an incident she witnesses between her older sister Cecilia and their housekeeper’s son, Robbie, it sets in motion a series of events that Briony will wrestle with for the rest of her life. The devastating finale in which an elderly Briony finally admits the truth, and the audience realizes the truth about what they’ve been watching, is a gut punch to the heart.
This Academy Award winner for Best Picture is an emotional, innovative exploration of identity, sexuality and masculinity. Moonlight presents the main character at three very different but critical points of his life — as a child, teenager and adult — and shows him struggling with the effects of physical and emotional abuse.
This script features a handful of scenes that might bring tears to your eye. It might be the conversation between a young Chiron and his pseudo-father figure Juan about homosexuality, or it might be an intimate moment between teenage Chiron and his friend Kevin. Then again, maybe the scene in which adult Chiron reconciles with his mother in a drug treatment center will be the one that gets you. Or maybe the scene in which adult Chiron reconnects with Kevin and admits something that makes him break down. With Moonlight, you might just have tears in your eyes the entire time.
Read More: First Ten Pages: Moonlight
Scripts don’t have to be traditionally sad to make us cry — something The Farewell proves in spades. Chinese American 20-something Billi discovers that her beloved grandmother, Nai Nai, has terminal cancer and not only has her extended family not told Nai Nai the truth about her diagnosis, but they have also decided to fast-track a wedding so that everyone can gather together one last time before the matriarch dies.
Though the premise itself might make you misty-eyed, the tone of Lulu Wang’s semi-autobiographical script takes more of a bittersweet, sardonic approach to the subject matter that will likely have you wiping away a stray tear while you bite back laughter.
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After a renowned linguistics professor is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s, she and her family struggle with the devastating effects of the disease as it progresses and her memory deteriorates.
The Still Alice screenplay is full of tender, tragic moments as the titular character loses her memory, and therefore her grasp on her own identity as well. Making it all the more emotional is the fact that the co-director and co-screenwriter Richard Glatzer was working on this project as he himself was struggling with a battle against ALS. When Julianne Moore won the Oscar for Best Actress, she dedicated her award to Glatzer, who lost his battle with ALS in March of 2015.
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Tear-jerking romance movies could make up an entire list of their own, so I’ve tried to not include too many here, but I can’t resist this one. Brooklyn tells the story of an Irish immigrant who moves to New York City in the 1950s and tries to start her life there. She finds love with a young Italian-American boy and is finally comfortable in her new life when a tragedy pulls her home to Ireland.
Back in her hometown, Eilis is faced with another love interest and must choose between two very different versions of her life, and therefore, herself. What lands Brooklyn a spot on this list is the fact that the script will make you cry not because of the romance, but because of the protagonist’s personal journey. By the time Eilis makes her decision and we discover what path she’s chosen, there’s usually not a dry eye in the house.
Read More: Review: Brooklyn Is An Ode To Love and Longing
Taika Waititi’s Oscar-winning dramedy might not be a conventional choice for this list of tear-jerking scripts, but it’s here for good reason.
The story centers around 10-year-old Johannes “Jojo” Betzler, a Hitler Youth member who just so happens to have a hilarious version of Adolf Hitler as an imaginary friend. When Jojo discovers that his mother is secretly hiding a Jewish girl in their home, it makes him question everything he has come to believe in his short life thus far. While the script may be full of laugh-out-loud moments, there’s one particularly heartbreaking scene (that I won’t spoil with details) that is bound to cause some crying.
Sports movies can be triumphant and inspiring, yes, but they can also be deeply depressing. As is the case with Million Dollar Baby, the sports drama written by Paul Haggis and directed by Clint Eastwood.
The story centers on Maggie, an amateur boxer who convinces Frankie Dunn, a curmudgeonly trainer, to help her achieve her dream of going pro. Just when Maggie’s dream is within reach, a series of events leaves Frankie with a gut-wrenching decision to make. If the final scene between the two doesn’t leave you in tears, nothing will.
Read More: 5 Plot Point Breakdown: Million Dollar Baby
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