The films of 2014 that have made me sob

I went to see How to Train Your Dragon 2 twice and cried both times. Told my producer and he said I cry in every film I see. Which obviously isn’t true but I thought I’d make a list of the films from 2014 which made me cry and the reasons why, apart from the obvious explanation, which is that I’m an emotional nightmare at the cinema.

January:

1. Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom – For obvious reasons, I cried in this.

2. 12 Years a Slave – Ditto this.

3. The Railway Man – It’s about a Prisoner of War being tortured. Speaks for itself.

4. August: Osage Country – Dysfunctional and Julia Roberts. It was always going to wring emotion out of me.

5. Out of the Furnace – Christian Bale’s brother is murdered. Murdered. I cried.

6. That Awkward Moment – I really didn’t enjoy this film but there’s a funeral in it and I always cry during funerals

7. Lone Survivor – LONE survivor? i.e. everyone else dies… Yes I cried.

February:

8. The Dallas Buyers Club – This is about people suffering from AIDS. And being so brave. And everyone won an Oscar. It was meant to make people cry.

9. Robocop – Not sure I can justify this… He’s a robot but loves his family. L

10. The Book Thief – Set during WW2. Tragic.

11. The Monuments Men – Ditto this. Although funny. But then tragic.

12. A New York Winter’s Tale – Oof. Colin Farrell loses the woman he loves and never grows old.

March:

13. Need for Speed – A boy dies in a car accident. It’s saaaad, ok?

14. Labor Day – Josh Brolin 15. A Long Way Down – Ok, again, TERRIBLE film, like the worst, BUT it’s essentially about suicide. And Toni Collette is very good at making me emosh (In Her Shoes, The Way Way Back)

16. Starred Up – Prison drama. Not typically one to make me cry but there was a father/son storyline to tug on the heartstrings.

17. 20 Feet From Stardom – Yeah, this one surprised me. Documentary about backing singers. But they were soooooo talented, they should have had more opportunities. My excuse.

April:

18. Divergent – LOADS OF PEOPLE DIE. LOADS. AND SOME OF THEM WERE THE GOOD GUYS.

19. Calvary – Brendan Gleeson gets told at the beginning of the film that he will be killed. Talk about emotive foreshadowing.

20. Half of a Yellow Sun – Thandie Newton, like Toni Collette, can make me cry at the drop of a hat (Crash being the obvious example)

21. The Amazing Spiderman 2 – Have you seen the end?!

22. The Other Woman – Hmmm. A comedy about women getting screwed over by a man. It may have made my eyeballs prickle a little…

23. Transcendence – Johnny Depp DIES. And becomes some sort of weird AI. Gutting.

May:

24. The Wind Rises – Studio Ghibli animation about planes. Which doesn’t sound particularly upsetting but when you learn that there’s a girl with TB in it… we all know what happened in Moulin Rouge.

25. Godzilla – I cried within the first 5 minutes! Poor Juliette Binoche :(

26. X-Men Days of Future Past – X-Men getting wiped out? Both Charles Xaviers meeting each other? Hugh Jackman’s biceps? SOBBBBBBBBBBBING

June:

27. Fruitvale Station – True story of a man being killed by police. Genuinely heart-breaking.

28. Belle – True(ish) story of a girl breaking free of the stigma of being dual heritage in the 1700s. She cries ALL the time in it. Why can’t I?

29. Devil’s Knot – Another true story of a group of young boys who get murdered and Reece Witherspoon plays the grieving mother. That deserves more than a lip tremble.

30. T.S Spivet – A little boy runs away from home after his twin’s accidental death. Mascara ruined.

31. The Fault in Our Stars – Cancer patients falling in love? It starts and ends with tears and my face was basically unrecognisable by the end because it was SO swollen.

32. Seve – I sort of think these were happy tears… When he won and got emotional, I got emotional, his brothers got emotional. It was emotional.

33. Walking on Sunshine – It’s a happy musical…there’s a wedding…a love triangle…a soul patch…

July:

34. Begin Again – Keira Knightley is cheated on. And writes songs about it. I didn’t actually have a full on cry but I welled up. A few times.

35. Love Me Till Monday – Such a realistic story about life and love expectations. A nostalgic cry I think.

36. How To Train Your Dragon 2 – OMG devastating stuff. Sobbed loads. Like the heavy crying where your nose gets blocked and you have to breathe really loudly out of your mouth.

OH MY GOD I’VE CRIED IN 36 FILMS SINCE JANUARY. No wonder I’m always dehydrated. Does someone want to embroider me a movie hanky? Apparently January and June are really hard months for me…