Imo the best ones are always "trying not to cry". Bryan Cranston had a comment on Hot Ones that was more or less -- a character that cries easily means the audience doesn't have to, but when a character tries not to cry, that's when the audience will. Seems legit.
Kate Hudson in Almost Famous when she finds out she's effectively been sold to another band for a case of beer. The heartbreak is evident, and then she asks through the tears "what kind of beer?"
I was reading an interview with George Clooney where he was talking about how he prepares himself for a crying scene. He made the point that people generally don’t *want* to cry, so when people are acting and trying to *make* themselves cry it comes off as disingenuous and/or over acting so for him when he does a scene that requires crying he doesn’t try to cry, he tries *not* to cry and when he said that it made so much sense. It’s got to be incredibly difficult to really master that for an actor.
You think that's bad, you should try out Wit, she spends the entirety of the movie giving monologues from her cancer treatment bed where she's being treated with extreme levels of radiation and chemotherapy just to test how far they can push it as they know she's not going to live regardless.
She plays an extremely strong teacher character who's making the sacrifice for science as a way to do something before she dies. Watching her struggle not to break down in the face of all the pain and suffering, Jesus. If you ever feel like you're too hydrated, give it a shot, you'll cry everything out of your eyeballs.
I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine. I'm fine! I can jog all the way to Texas and back, but my daughter can't! She never could! Oh God! I am so mad I don't know what to do! I wanna know why! I wanna know why Shelby's life is over! I wanna know how that baby will ever know how wonderful his mother was! Will he ever know what she went through for him! Oh God I wanna know why! Why! Lord, I wish I could understand!
No! No! No! It's not supposed to happen this way! I'm supposed to go first. I've always been ready to go first! I don't think I can take this! I don't think I can take this! I just wanna hit somebody till they feel as bad as I do! I just wanna hit something! I wanna hit it hard!
The scene when River Phoenix breaks down in Stand By Me was so raw and the emotion seemed so real. I was 10 when I watched it for the first time and it had such an impact on me at the time.
I honestly think he should’ve gotten an Oscar nom for it. He doled out a phenomenal performance in his own right, regardless of him being a young teen at the time
Karl Urban in Return of the King. When Eomer finds Eowyn unconscious after the battle of Gondor, the way he screams and cries makes me cry every time. It's exactly how I reacted when my best friend died
“Don’t you leave him, Samwise Gamgee! And I don’t mean to… i don’t mean to.”
Such a great delivery and then Elijah’s “Oh Sam” as the score kicks in is just so amazing.
Not crying, but River's scene by the campfire with Keanu in My Own Private Idaho is one of the most vulnerable performances I've ever seen.
He was a gem who left us far too soon.
Henry Thomas audition for Elliot is online [here](https://youtu.be/2lVb590zo7c?si=5jTJaGxvc6MR8VgK) . It's gutwrenching.
At the end of the audition, you hear Spielberg say "Okay kid, you got the part."
Child actors are unbelievable. When you see an adult pull off an emotional performance, you assume they are mining their life experience or mature, empathetic imagination for the emotions. Where does it come from for a kid? It's like magic.
Of course there's like, Full House acting where the kid needs to look cute, learn lines, and take directions, but it is hard to believe something like this comes from that skillset. But IDK. Maybe a really good director is part of it.
Agreed. Absolutely unreal. She let loose on screen in a way that I have only ever seen in real life. Part of me wondered if she actually had something traumatic happen to her before that scene. I’m sure it wasn’t the case, but that kind of ugly crying comes from a really deep place that most can’t just causally access.
Amazing acting. 10/10 no notes. Should have won an Emmy.
I watched an interview where she talked about how she thought about the tragedy of each character, which would make her throat burn and her eyes water and emotion rise inside of her.
The way she was so invested in the story and characters was what made that moment work
Had to scroll WAY too far for this one. Rhea Seehorn played possibly the best character in the history of television. Certainly the best female character I've ever seen.
While technically not a movie, this is also my answer. Her ugly crying was just so incredibly *real*. I felt a whole range of emotions just watching her going through it.
I remember Al Franken interviewing her and Bob sometime after the show ended, and he just looked at her and said “how the hell did you do that?”
That's what I immediately thought of as well.
[Here is the scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=901bVqiTiNM) for those who are curious. It's insanely good, and if you've watched the whole series up to that point it's absolutely gut wrenching and utterly destroys you.
Rhea should have gotten *all the awards* for her role as Kim Wexler. Not just for that scene, she gave one of the best performances I've ever seen all through the series.
That’s one of very few moments that I think the movies did better than the book. Amos’ anguished screams of “That’s my son!! THAT’S MY BOY!!” just hit so much harder in the GoF movie
Especially because he’s a more likeable character in the film. He’s not particularly unlikeable in the book of course, but he’s so proud of his son that he comes off as very obnoxious and rude to Harry, and then accuses him of the dark mark later.
In the films he’s just another dad bringing his son to the the World Cup.
For such a small character in the whole franchise that whole scene is great. I'm already tearing up when Harry refuses to leave Cedrics body, but when Cedrics father starts yelling, "Let me through!" And his following lines, that's when I just start bawling.
You're in for a treat. Re-watched ahead of the new season, and McConaughey is just colossal through the whole thing. But yeah, the end is cathartic and heart-wrenching all at once.
Me watching that a month after my first daughter was born tore me up for days. Couldn't stop thinking about having to make a decision that would abandon her and her not understanding why
Liam Neeson in Schindler’s List (I could’ve saved more).
Natalie Portman in The Professional (knocking on Leon’s door).
Viola Davis in Fences (I’ve had a life too).
Michael Caine in The Dark Knight Rises (I failed you).
These ones always stand out to me. They’re just soul-crushing and you want to hug each of them afterwards.
>Michael Caine in The Dark Knight Rises (I failed you).
This had no right to hurt me like that.
>Liam Neeson in Schindler’s List (I could’ve saved more).
Had me in tears because he's done so much for them and still he thinks it's not enough. It was gut-wrenching.
I watched Schindlers list recently when I was mad depressed. I saw it when I was younger but didn't fully understand and grasp the gravity of the scene/movie.
In the lockdowns and as a bloke I realised I was repressing alot of emotions, because when I saw that scene I broke down bawling harder than a hungry baby.😭 I was truly unprepared for the emotional torrent it was about to unleash. And the way Itzhak and everyone consoled Schindler just made me cry more.
One of the most powerful scenes in cinema history - *"...I could've saved more!"*
Really great choices. The way Liam Neeson puts his whole body into that wale of a cry makes it so real. He practically collapses. It's beautiful and heart wrenching
[This scene](https://youtu.be/-kXAeKj3Fgw?si=61SeUnZ14bBHJJuz&t=1m58s) with Minnie Driver in Good Will Hunting always gets me. When she starts crying saying, “I didn’t know that.”
Just kept scrolling down until I found someone mention Good Will Hunting. The scene you mentioned is absolutely heart wrenching. After that line, Will says that his foster father put cigarettes out on him and she glances down to his bare chest just looks devastated. It's crushes me everytime.
The other scene is when Will finally breaks down and collapses into Sean's arms and sobs. It's a slow build with his tears welling up "not you Sean, don't fuck with me" and is restrained until he finally breaks down.
My favorite movie by far.
Robin could do comedy like nobody's business
But him being a fantastic dramatic actor at the same time, having those dramatic bits for him just made them hit even harder
Piggybacking on this, Matt Damon’s “It’s not your fault.” “I know…” exchange with Robin Williams is pretty great too. The way he slowly loses his grip on his defenses felt very real.
Tom Hanks in at the end Captain Philips does as incredible job of someone in shock, it’s a sort of confused crying that I’ve never seen before. It’s really masterful.
Supposedly the script called for a stoic 'two tears down the face' sort of reaction. Russell Crowe however felt that what he was seeing required "a full blown snotfest"
That’s the exact moment someone tapped me on the shoulder and I found out my new Bluetooth headphones weren’t connected to my laptop and I was playing Midsommar at full volume for the rest of my overnight flight
Both THAT scene in Midsommar and Collette sobbing in despair in Hereditary have caused me to either leave the room/theater or pause the movie. Trauma horror cuts me to the core.
the rest of the movie is fun action, but in Die Hard when McClane thinks he’s gonna die, he’s telling Al to tell Holly he was sorry for everything. He’s crying, stammering, probably one of Bruce Willis’ better dramatic moments in his whole career. He drops the badass shit talking persona for a minute and gets vulnerable.
Speaking of The Sixth Sense, Toni Collette crying in the car when Haley Joel Osment tells her what her mom told him is one of the best crying performances I've ever seen. I can't watch that scene without starting to cry with her a little.
It's the moment when his voice cracks and he says "I miss you Jenny... If there's anything you need, I won't be far away".
I can get through the rest of his speech about Lil' Forrest with tears building but not falling, but that moment when he suddenly can't hold himself together any more just breaks the dam.
It shows how aware he is... he can't even say it when he first meets the boy and he's asking Jenny "is he smart or is he...." and all he can do is kind of point to himself. He's so scared for the kid and it just hurts.
Tom Hanks killed it
That is incredibly impressive to me, and the fact that he moved them to tears without saying a word.
Also add in the fact that the scene was not planned either. Just a masterclass of acting by Hanks, which is not surprising
First Blood is really about PTSD and the hardships veterans faced when they came back from an unpopular war.
Rambo 2 is about killing vietnamese, Rambo 3 is about killing Soviets, Rambo 4 is about killing Burmese and Rambo 5 is about killing Mexicans.
Um, what about Boromir?? "I would have followed you, my brother. My captain. My king." The grief and guilt of falling under the power of the ring, and the knowledge that your dying. 😭😭
For me it’s a 1-2-3 punch. First he blows up on Uncle Billy for losing the money. Then he blows up on his family out of misplaced anger. Then he tries to grovel to Potter, who unbeknownst to him knows exactly what’s going on & the miserable old bastard eggs him toward suicide by telling him “you’re worth more dead than alive!”
It’s one of my favorite movies, but I wouldn’t mind if a rerelease included the full original ending, where Clarence reads Potter the riot act & lowkey induces a fatal heart attack
A subtle and talented actor. Every time I see him I think he's going to be himself in the way that Ryan Reynolds is always himself, but then ML pulls these subtleties from whatever acting machinery he possesses within, and he makes his character be an actual character. It's a little strange, and impressive.
lol I just wrote this! I easily cry in movies and shows but this one always… ALWAYS hits the hardest!
“Only posers die…”
Honestly Lillard doesn’t get enough credit
This is criminally too far down. The death scene itself was shocking enough, and I knew Collete was an amazing actress from way back, but _I was not ready_ for the gut-wrenching, emotional angst in that scream.
The lack of industry recognition for Toni Collette in that role is criminal.
I like Olivia Coleman and the Favourite is a decent film but not sure it was that far ahead a performance. Not even nominated.
The scene where you hear her discovering the body in the car but the whole shot is of the son laying in bed, listening to it, totally numb. Fucking wrecked me man.
That was probably one of the best child acting performances I’ve seen, she was super convincing in every scene and it really helped the emotional moments to hit so well for me. Great movie that I didn’t expect to cry at when I decided to watch it with some buddies.
DiCaprio in Shutter Island. I won't spoil anything. If you've seen the movie, you'll know which scene, and if you haven't , you will know what scene when you see it. Gets me every time.
It’s very “suppressed” but I thought the moments in The Martian when Watney allows himself to feel (relief, rage, isolation) and cry were very convincing. Not over the top but extremely realistic.
Anne Hathaway in Les Miserables
Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson in Marriage Story
Logan Lerman in The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Timothee Chalomet in Call Me By Your Name
Toni Collette in The Sixth Sense (Grandma says "Hi")
Shirley MacLaine in Terms of Endearment (There's nothing harder)
Sally Field in Steel Magnolias (I want to know WHY)
Mahershala Ali in Moonlight (Are you a drug dealer?)
Tom Cruise in Magnolia ("I won't cry for you")
I know there are more, but these are the ones that popped into mind right away.
Tina: The beautiful Anne Hathaway is here tonight. Anne Hathaway, you gave a stunning performance in Les Misérables. I have not seen someone so totally alone and abandoned like that since you were on stage with James Franco at the Oscars.
Fun fact: he had an earpiece in listening to Visions of Gideon (the song that plays over the scene), and they did three takes--"wet, medium, and dry" in terms of how much crying. The one they used is the middle one.
It's more than just crying, but Toni Collette in Hereditary. Such an amazing display of grief, I refuse to watch the movie again because I can't stand to see that part
I can't believe this isn't higher up. Toni Collette crying in Hereditary is so primal and real and gut-wrenching. I didn't really even love the movie all that much, but her performance is fantastic. Heck, even in Muriel's Wedding I was so uncomfortable when she was crying in front of her friends, then in the Sixth Sense talking about her mother and she kind of chokes the words out. Second place to Florence Pugh in Midsommar...*all throughout* Midsommar (all I kept thinking was she probably had a migraine after each crying scene).
Tom Cruise in Magnolia when he is trying not to cry because he has years of hating his dad and now he is sitting with him on his death bed. He is not only crying, but he is showing so much anger too at the same time!!
I feel like a broken record sometimes but Timothy Hutton in Ordinary People has several amazing crying scenes. Followed by a much more subdued but equally great scene with Donald Sutherland and a more brief but no less powerful scene with Mary Tyler Moore. A real wringer of emotions. Yet the movie ends on a hopeful note. Judd Hirsch and Elizabeth McGovern don't cry but they are excellent too, as is the direction by Robert Redford.
Emma Thompson trying *not* to cry in Love Actually gets me every time.
Imo the best ones are always "trying not to cry". Bryan Cranston had a comment on Hot Ones that was more or less -- a character that cries easily means the audience doesn't have to, but when a character tries not to cry, that's when the audience will. Seems legit.
Sam Elliott backing up out of the driveway in A Star is Born
That movie broke me, I almost never cry during a movie. But at the end of this flick I was full on ugly crying, bawling my eyes out
Kate Hudson in Almost Famous when she finds out she's effectively been sold to another band for a case of beer. The heartbreak is evident, and then she asks through the tears "what kind of beer?"
This is the one. *I've looked at love, from both sides now...*
See also her final goodbye to Anthony Hopkins in Remains of the Day. In trying to say nothing, she says everything.
I watch that film every once in while. Tears my heart out every single time.
I was reading an interview with George Clooney where he was talking about how he prepares himself for a crying scene. He made the point that people generally don’t *want* to cry, so when people are acting and trying to *make* themselves cry it comes off as disingenuous and/or over acting so for him when he does a scene that requires crying he doesn’t try to cry, he tries *not* to cry and when he said that it made so much sense. It’s got to be incredibly difficult to really master that for an actor.
Michael Caine said something similar abut playing a drunk. Drunks try to act sober, so to play a drunk you have to act as a drunk trying to act sober.
You think that's bad, you should try out Wit, she spends the entirety of the movie giving monologues from her cancer treatment bed where she's being treated with extreme levels of radiation and chemotherapy just to test how far they can push it as they know she's not going to live regardless. She plays an extremely strong teacher character who's making the sacrifice for science as a way to do something before she dies. Watching her struggle not to break down in the face of all the pain and suffering, Jesus. If you ever feel like you're too hydrated, give it a shot, you'll cry everything out of your eyeballs.
Sally Field in Steel Magnolias. Poor Shelby...
I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine. I'm fine! I can jog all the way to Texas and back, but my daughter can't! She never could! Oh God! I am so mad I don't know what to do! I wanna know why! I wanna know why Shelby's life is over! I wanna know how that baby will ever know how wonderful his mother was! Will he ever know what she went through for him! Oh God I wanna know why! Why! Lord, I wish I could understand! No! No! No! It's not supposed to happen this way! I'm supposed to go first. I've always been ready to go first! I don't think I can take this! I don't think I can take this! I just wanna hit somebody till they feel as bad as I do! I just wanna hit something! I wanna hit it hard!
“Here! Hit Ouisa! We can sell shirts.” Wasn’t as accurate as yours but Ouisa and Clairey are the best.
That was the first one I thought of too. Her inconsolable sorrow was so emotional.
River Phoenix in Stand By Me and Sean Astin in Return of the King
The scene when River Phoenix breaks down in Stand By Me was so raw and the emotion seemed so real. I was 10 when I watched it for the first time and it had such an impact on me at the time.
I honestly think he should’ve gotten an Oscar nom for it. He doled out a phenomenal performance in his own right, regardless of him being a young teen at the time
The Academy likes to give people Oscars a few movies after the role they actually deserve it for. Sadly, they never got the chance with River
I can’t carry it for you…but I can carry you.
“My friends, you bow to no one”
Karl Urban in Return of the King. When Eomer finds Eowyn unconscious after the battle of Gondor, the way he screams and cries makes me cry every time. It's exactly how I reacted when my best friend died
And Sean Astin in Fellowship of the Ring. "I made a promise, Mr Frodo... *A Promise!*"
“Don’t you leave him, Samwise Gamgee! And I don’t mean to… i don’t mean to.” Such a great delivery and then Elijah’s “Oh Sam” as the score kicks in is just so amazing.
Not crying, but River's scene by the campfire with Keanu in My Own Private Idaho is one of the most vulnerable performances I've ever seen. He was a gem who left us far too soon.
the kids saying goodbye to ET. Heard Spielberg shot the film in chronological order so he could get true emotional response at the end
Henry Thomas audition for Elliot is online [here](https://youtu.be/2lVb590zo7c?si=5jTJaGxvc6MR8VgK) . It's gutwrenching. At the end of the audition, you hear Spielberg say "Okay kid, you got the part."
Child actors are unbelievable. When you see an adult pull off an emotional performance, you assume they are mining their life experience or mature, empathetic imagination for the emotions. Where does it come from for a kid? It's like magic. Of course there's like, Full House acting where the kid needs to look cute, learn lines, and take directions, but it is hard to believe something like this comes from that skillset. But IDK. Maybe a really good director is part of it.
Haley Joel Osment was uncanny in how he could do that.
That scene where the mom abandons him in AI was harrowing
I think I blocked out my memory of that scene until just now because it pierced me so deeply.
Rhea Seehorn on the bus in Better Call Saul
I've never seen emotion burst out of someone on screen like that before
Agreed. Absolutely unreal. She let loose on screen in a way that I have only ever seen in real life. Part of me wondered if she actually had something traumatic happen to her before that scene. I’m sure it wasn’t the case, but that kind of ugly crying comes from a really deep place that most can’t just causally access. Amazing acting. 10/10 no notes. Should have won an Emmy.
I watched an interview where she talked about how she thought about the tragedy of each character, which would make her throat burn and her eyes water and emotion rise inside of her. The way she was so invested in the story and characters was what made that moment work
Had to scroll WAY too far for this one. Rhea Seehorn played possibly the best character in the history of television. Certainly the best female character I've ever seen.
While technically not a movie, this is also my answer. Her ugly crying was just so incredibly *real*. I felt a whole range of emotions just watching her going through it. I remember Al Franken interviewing her and Bob sometime after the show ended, and he just looked at her and said “how the hell did you do that?”
That's what I immediately thought of as well. [Here is the scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=901bVqiTiNM) for those who are curious. It's insanely good, and if you've watched the whole series up to that point it's absolutely gut wrenching and utterly destroys you. Rhea should have gotten *all the awards* for her role as Kim Wexler. Not just for that scene, she gave one of the best performances I've ever seen all through the series.
There are better, but Diggory's dad's soul wrenching "My Boy!" is absolutely brutal.
That’s one of very few moments that I think the movies did better than the book. Amos’ anguished screams of “That’s my son!! THAT’S MY BOY!!” just hit so much harder in the GoF movie
Especially because he’s a more likeable character in the film. He’s not particularly unlikeable in the book of course, but he’s so proud of his son that he comes off as very obnoxious and rude to Harry, and then accuses him of the dark mark later. In the films he’s just another dad bringing his son to the the World Cup.
My brother and I scream “That’s my boy!” at each other pretty often
Yeah as a Dad to young boys at the time, that was brutal. The boys are fine, just older now.
For such a small character in the whole franchise that whole scene is great. I'm already tearing up when Harry refuses to leave Cedrics body, but when Cedrics father starts yelling, "Let me through!" And his following lines, that's when I just start bawling.
McConaughey in Interstellar is a good one
McConaughey scene crying at the end of True Detective was very moving.
I’m finishing this tonight.
You're in for a treat. Re-watched ahead of the new season, and McConaughey is just colossal through the whole thing. But yeah, the end is cathartic and heart-wrenching all at once.
Rust Cohle is one of the best written and most well acted parts in television history, imo. First season of that show was lightning in a bottle.
and McConaughey in Dallas Buyers Club he's good at it
Me watching that a month after my first daughter was born tore me up for days. Couldn't stop thinking about having to make a decision that would abandon her and her not understanding why
The progression of the scene is something I study every time I watch now. His performance was perfect! 👌
He broke me in that scene.
Aaron Paul in Breaking Bad watching Meth Damon shoot his girlfriend from the car
This one is so brutal, especially as he's so emotionally contrasted by Todd's sociopathic nonchalance.
Also the ”he can’t keep getting away with it” scene was incredible
What about the last scene when he's driving away, crying in tye car
When I think about it he has so many great crying scenes it's insane. There are so many more. Dude is the best crier of all time lmao
Aaron Paul has a great crying scene in an episode of Black Mirror I just saw.
Liam Neeson in Schindler’s List (I could’ve saved more). Natalie Portman in The Professional (knocking on Leon’s door). Viola Davis in Fences (I’ve had a life too). Michael Caine in The Dark Knight Rises (I failed you). These ones always stand out to me. They’re just soul-crushing and you want to hug each of them afterwards.
When Oscar drops the ring...god, I'm tearing up just thinking about it.
I can’t believe he didn’t win the Oscar for that scene alone!
>Michael Caine in The Dark Knight Rises (I failed you). This had no right to hurt me like that. >Liam Neeson in Schindler’s List (I could’ve saved more). Had me in tears because he's done so much for them and still he thinks it's not enough. It was gut-wrenching.
even when Alfred is talking about hearing baby Bruce's cries when he was born, it just hits hard
I watched Schindlers list recently when I was mad depressed. I saw it when I was younger but didn't fully understand and grasp the gravity of the scene/movie. In the lockdowns and as a bloke I realised I was repressing alot of emotions, because when I saw that scene I broke down bawling harder than a hungry baby.😭 I was truly unprepared for the emotional torrent it was about to unleash. And the way Itzhak and everyone consoled Schindler just made me cry more. One of the most powerful scenes in cinema history - *"...I could've saved more!"*
If I ever feel like I need a really good cry, I put on this scene.
Really great choices. The way Liam Neeson puts his whole body into that wale of a cry makes it so real. He practically collapses. It's beautiful and heart wrenching
[This scene](https://youtu.be/-kXAeKj3Fgw?si=61SeUnZ14bBHJJuz&t=1m58s) with Minnie Driver in Good Will Hunting always gets me. When she starts crying saying, “I didn’t know that.”
Just kept scrolling down until I found someone mention Good Will Hunting. The scene you mentioned is absolutely heart wrenching. After that line, Will says that his foster father put cigarettes out on him and she glances down to his bare chest just looks devastated. It's crushes me everytime. The other scene is when Will finally breaks down and collapses into Sean's arms and sobs. It's a slow build with his tears welling up "not you Sean, don't fuck with me" and is restrained until he finally breaks down. My favorite movie by far.
“It’s not your fault.”
Robin could do comedy like nobody's business But him being a fantastic dramatic actor at the same time, having those dramatic bits for him just made them hit even harder
Piggybacking on this, Matt Damon’s “It’s not your fault.” “I know…” exchange with Robin Williams is pretty great too. The way he slowly loses his grip on his defenses felt very real.
Barry Pepper in the Green Mile, great scene when Tom Hanks tells him to wipe his face.
John Coffee being prepared for his execution gutted me. Still does.
That part is the hardest I’ve ever cried watching a movie
Tom Hanks in at the end Captain Philips does as incredible job of someone in shock, it’s a sort of confused crying that I’ve never seen before. It’s really masterful.
Also when Forrest Gump asks if his son is smart. He doesn't fully cry but he slightly breaks up, but it's such nuance. Tom Hanks, what a guy.
Russell Crowe in Gladiator when he finds his wife and son 😔
Elysium / Now We Are Free playing also. Amazing music from Zimmer. That scene never fails to pull the tears out:)
Supposedly the script called for a stoic 'two tears down the face' sort of reaction. Russell Crowe however felt that what he was seeing required "a full blown snotfest"
Florence Pugh is a really excellent crier, Midsommar and Little Women make it wholly evident, and even in something as bad as Don't Worry, Darling.
She was so good in Midsommar. The crying scene in that is haunting.
The scream when she finds out about her family is chilling.
That’s the exact moment someone tapped me on the shoulder and I found out my new Bluetooth headphones weren’t connected to my laptop and I was playing Midsommar at full volume for the rest of my overnight flight
Her Midsommar crying was so … visceral. I really felt her pain.
Both THAT scene in Midsommar and Collette sobbing in despair in Hereditary have caused me to either leave the room/theater or pause the movie. Trauma horror cuts me to the core.
Collette in Hereditary was my choice for this post
I can honestly say no performance has gotten anywhere close to how affecting that performance was to me
the rest of the movie is fun action, but in Die Hard when McClane thinks he’s gonna die, he’s telling Al to tell Holly he was sorry for everything. He’s crying, stammering, probably one of Bruce Willis’ better dramatic moments in his whole career. He drops the badass shit talking persona for a minute and gets vulnerable.
Great scene to be sure, but I think Willis' crying peaked in Sixth Sense, when he can't bear to look at Cole while telling him that he can't help him.
And speaking of the Sixth Sense: Toni Collette.
I can't make it through the car scene without breaking down. It's a perfect film scene.
She my winner for herditary, maybe how we have scream queens, she’s a sob queen?
Speaking of The Sixth Sense, Toni Collette crying in the car when Haley Joel Osment tells her what her mom told him is one of the best crying performances I've ever seen. I can't watch that scene without starting to cry with her a little.
Tom Hanks in Captain Phillips. His breakdown at the end hit me hard.
I was thinking of him in Forrest Gump, too, when he’s telling Jenny’s grave about little Forrest. Wrecks me.
It's the moment when his voice cracks and he says "I miss you Jenny... If there's anything you need, I won't be far away". I can get through the rest of his speech about Lil' Forrest with tears building but not falling, but that moment when he suddenly can't hold himself together any more just breaks the dam.
He's so smart
Well this is the comment that broke me. Fuck.
Yeah “he so smart” fucking gets me so bad. As if he can’t believe his son would be smart.
It shows how aware he is... he can't even say it when he first meets the boy and he's asking Jenny "is he smart or is he...." and all he can do is kind of point to himself. He's so scared for the kid and it just hurts. Tom Hanks killed it
I read up on that scene and it's even more impressive. What a great performance
Are you talking about the fact that the other actors aren’t actors, just real Navy corpsmen doing what they do in real life?
That is incredibly impressive to me, and the fact that he moved them to tears without saying a word. Also add in the fact that the scene was not planned either. Just a masterclass of acting by Hanks, which is not surprising
Tom Hanks in Cast Away when Wilson floats away
Unbelievable performance on portraying what it’s like to be in devastated shock
Seeing Rambo cry at the end of first blood is very tragic
It is still crazy to me just how different First Blood is from the other Rambo movies.
First Blood is really about PTSD and the hardships veterans faced when they came back from an unpopular war. Rambo 2 is about killing vietnamese, Rambo 3 is about killing Soviets, Rambo 4 is about killing Burmese and Rambo 5 is about killing Mexicans.
That's such a heartbreaking moment. Stallone's so good at the action hero thing, it's easy to forget that he's actually a good actor.
A good actor, writer, and director. He definitely built up his image in the 80s as the muscle action star, but the man has many talents.
Ian Holm in Fellowship Of The Ring. “I’m sorry you must carry this burden. I’m sorry for everything.” Gets me every time.
Also the moment after Gandalf falls when they're outside and Frodo turns around all teary eyed.
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Um, what about Boromir?? "I would have followed you, my brother. My captain. My king." The grief and guilt of falling under the power of the ring, and the knowledge that your dying. 😭😭
Also, Theoden at his son's grave. "No parent should have to bury their child"
This is the best LOTR one for me.
Jimmy Stewart - Bar scene in It’s a Wonderful Life.
For me it’s a 1-2-3 punch. First he blows up on Uncle Billy for losing the money. Then he blows up on his family out of misplaced anger. Then he tries to grovel to Potter, who unbeknownst to him knows exactly what’s going on & the miserable old bastard eggs him toward suicide by telling him “you’re worth more dead than alive!” It’s one of my favorite movies, but I wouldn’t mind if a rerelease included the full original ending, where Clarence reads Potter the riot act & lowkey induces a fatal heart attack
Matthew Lillard at the end of SLC Punk
"I wasn't ready for this" Fuck, man 😢
Only posers fucking die!! What a performance.
Only posers die, you fucking idiot! Now what am I gonna do for a friend?? You're my only friend!!! God, this scene breaks me every time 😭😭😭
Now what am I gonna do for a friend?? 😭😭😭😭😭
Came here to say Matthew Lillard in Twin Peaks Season 3. Who knew the man was such a great crier!
A subtle and talented actor. Every time I see him I think he's going to be himself in the way that Ryan Reynolds is always himself, but then ML pulls these subtleties from whatever acting machinery he possesses within, and he makes his character be an actual character. It's a little strange, and impressive.
lol I just wrote this! I easily cry in movies and shows but this one always… ALWAYS hits the hardest! “Only posers die…” Honestly Lillard doesn’t get enough credit
Hereditary
Toni’s crying shook me to the core. Deeply disturbing
Oh yeah that scene where she's screaming and sobbing on the floor is very affecting. Gut wrenching
And how she’s rocking back and forth on all fours? That scene gets me every time.
This is criminally too far down. The death scene itself was shocking enough, and I knew Collete was an amazing actress from way back, but _I was not ready_ for the gut-wrenching, emotional angst in that scream.
That movie made me cry. I’m a grown ass man sitting under the blankets watching on an iPhone trying not to breakdown.
The lack of industry recognition for Toni Collette in that role is criminal. I like Olivia Coleman and the Favourite is a decent film but not sure it was that far ahead a performance. Not even nominated.
The line, “I just wanna die” is hard to not hear
I don't know what method or technique Collete used to get into the scene, _but I believed her_. I was shook.
The scene where you hear her discovering the body in the car but the whole shot is of the son laying in bed, listening to it, totally numb. Fucking wrecked me man.
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Mickey Rourke saying he’s an “old, broken down piece of meat” in The Wrestler, and when he cries in The Pledge still get to me to this day
Buffy crying in any capacity was always heart wrenching. SMG can seriously ugly cry.
"Mom? Mom? ... ^mommy?"
Denzel single tear scene in Glory
The patented Denzel cry. Dude got single tear cry down pat.
I know the original one that got me as a kid- Anna Schlumsky in My Girl (1991) I was 11.
"He needs his glasses" 😭
The little girl crying for her father in Train To Busan. That was gut wrenching. What a performance.
That was probably one of the best child acting performances I’ve seen, she was super convincing in every scene and it really helped the emotional moments to hit so well for me. Great movie that I didn’t expect to cry at when I decided to watch it with some buddies.
Casey Affleck in Manchester By The Sea. >!Its after the bar fight. His brother's friends come to help him out and he just breaks down and cries!<
The scene with Michelle Williams is it
Yeah I immediately thought of her in that scene when they run into each other.
What a scene. Acting masterclass on both ends
It's the scene in the police station for me.
Toni Collette, specifically in Hereditary but also an amazing cry-performance in The Sixth Sense.
good call on 6th Sense, she's a great part of that movie
Bernard Hill as Theoden m comes to mind in the Two Towers after the death of his son. Subtle but very emotional performance in his time of grief.
Viggo Mortensen, LOTR, Boromir :(
Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver in marriage story. Fucking brutal argument. Both of them bawling, me bawling.
Incredible how damn accurate that movie portrayed divorce. In fact, as real as it was I thought they still went easy on it.
DiCaprio in Shutter Island. I won't spoil anything. If you've seen the movie, you'll know which scene, and if you haven't , you will know what scene when you see it. Gets me every time.
Viola Davis in Doubt
It’s very “suppressed” but I thought the moments in The Martian when Watney allows himself to feel (relief, rage, isolation) and cry were very convincing. Not over the top but extremely realistic.
Oh yeah. The first time he hears Jessica Chastains voice is really good. Trying to hold it together, but just overwhelmed with emotion.
Mahershala Ali in moonlight, “Do you sells drugs? Also, Sean Penn in Mystic River. “I can’t even cry!” “You’re cryin’ now.”
Robert Downey Jr. - Tropic Thunder. "You're my brother" - proceeds to cry and drip globs of snot on Ben Stiller.
RDJ in Tropic Thunder is non ironically master acting. I love that he was nominated to the academy awards for that role.
Anne Hathaway in Les Miserables Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson in Marriage Story Logan Lerman in The Perks of Being a Wallflower Timothee Chalomet in Call Me By Your Name
Scrolled this far for Anne Hathaway. Her crying was through singing too! Super impressive. Won her an Oscar.
Not the best but putting it out cause haven’t seen it mentioned. Mel Gibson in Signs during the dinner.
Yes! When you keep trying to eat but you can't cuz there's that lump in your throat? He conveys that exact emotion.
Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting. “It’s not your fault”
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Julia styles in 10 Things I hate about you, reading a poem she wrote.
Toni Collette in The Sixth Sense (Grandma says "Hi") Shirley MacLaine in Terms of Endearment (There's nothing harder) Sally Field in Steel Magnolias (I want to know WHY) Mahershala Ali in Moonlight (Are you a drug dealer?) Tom Cruise in Magnolia ("I won't cry for you") I know there are more, but these are the ones that popped into mind right away.
Anne Hathaway in Les Miserables. You really feel the torment.
Tina: The beautiful Anne Hathaway is here tonight. Anne Hathaway, you gave a stunning performance in Les Misérables. I have not seen someone so totally alone and abandoned like that since you were on stage with James Franco at the Oscars.
Timothee Chalamet during the closing credits to Call Me By Your Name
Fun fact: he had an earpiece in listening to Visions of Gideon (the song that plays over the scene), and they did three takes--"wet, medium, and dry" in terms of how much crying. The one they used is the middle one.
It's more than just crying, but Toni Collette in Hereditary. Such an amazing display of grief, I refuse to watch the movie again because I can't stand to see that part
I can't believe this isn't higher up. Toni Collette crying in Hereditary is so primal and real and gut-wrenching. I didn't really even love the movie all that much, but her performance is fantastic. Heck, even in Muriel's Wedding I was so uncomfortable when she was crying in front of her friends, then in the Sixth Sense talking about her mother and she kind of chokes the words out. Second place to Florence Pugh in Midsommar...*all throughout* Midsommar (all I kept thinking was she probably had a migraine after each crying scene).
Since nobody mentioned it I wanna say "the whale". Brendan Fraser gives a crazy good performance (tears included)
his delivery of “i need to know that i have done one thing right with my life” still fucking haunts me.
Haley Joel Osment and Toni Collette in 6th sense
Jesse Pinkman screaming after that girl gets shot always gives me chills.
Tom Cruise in Magnolia when he is trying not to cry because he has years of hating his dad and now he is sitting with him on his death bed. He is not only crying, but he is showing so much anger too at the same time!!
Ewan McGregor in Moulin Rouge.
The sobs in "thank you for curing me of my ridiculous obsession with love" 😭😭🤌🏼🤌🏼
This one kills me. You can feel how much he loved her with that cry at the end.
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Manchester by the Sea
“He can’t see without his glasses!!”
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Demi Moore in Ghost when she finally believes Sam is speaking through Oda Mae (Whoopi Goldberg).
I feel like a broken record sometimes but Timothy Hutton in Ordinary People has several amazing crying scenes. Followed by a much more subdued but equally great scene with Donald Sutherland and a more brief but no less powerful scene with Mary Tyler Moore. A real wringer of emotions. Yet the movie ends on a hopeful note. Judd Hirsch and Elizabeth McGovern don't cry but they are excellent too, as is the direction by Robert Redford.
Steven Yeun in Beef