Come for the romance; stay for the heartbreak.

One of the powers of good storytelling paired with solid filmmaking is invoking the ugly cry from viewers. The ugly cry is the uncontrollable stream of tears you, as the audience member, engage in as you feel all the characters' emotions and story playing out across the screen. We've ugly cried to movies with animals, iconic deaths, endings of franchise films, and The Notebook. The genres that really indulge the ugly cry are romance and breakup stories.

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Whether the filmmakers drop viewers in at the beginning, middle, or end, it doesn't matter where you start in these break-up films, the romance is dissipating, and the tears are flowing. From Oscar-nominated pictures to the ones critics would rather forget, a good break-up movie creates an atmosphere where audiences grieve the loss of a relationship just as much as the fictional characters involved.

The following article contains minor spoilers for each entry.

Dropping viewers in at the end of their love story, Marriage Story (directed by Noah Baumbach) illuminates the opposite side of a love story when the ride after the sunset doesn't end in roses and hearts. Detailing the messy divorce of Charlie (Adam Driver) and Nicole Barber (Scarlett Johansson) as they fight for custody of their son Henry (Azhy Robertson).

As Charlie and Nicole struggle to find their way after marrying young, the two engage on journeys of self-discovery as the people they were when they got married are not who they are now. Driver and Johansson masterfully portray a couple who desperately wishes they weren't going through this major life change, which many viewers can relate to. This couple's saga brought a new life to cinematic marriages and many tears to Netflix streamers.

After a bold career move forces a devastating breakup for Jenny (Gina Rodriguez), her best friends band together to spend one more epic night in New York before their lives change for good. In a heartfelt story about loss and growth, Jenny must relive the best and worst moments of her almost-decade-long relationship with Nate (LaKeith Stanfield). The series of flashbacks are devastating in many ways.

While Rodriguez is the driving force of the movie, she is joined by Brittany Snow and DeWanda Wise, the trio bringing friendship and the art of letting go to viewers. Netflix's Someone Great elicits the deepest ugly cry from anyone fresh from an intense break-up.

The epitome of the doomed love story, Brokeback Mountain fits perfectly in the ugly cry genre. Rodeo cowboy Jack (Jake Gyllenhaal) and ranch hand Ennis (Heath Ledger) stumble into a romance one night as they tend to a herd of sheep on Brokeback Mountain. The pair keep their on-off affair secret for decades after each marries their respective girlfriends.

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In a story of hope and desire marred by expectations and fear, Gyllenhaal and Ledger provide top-notch performances as lovers that bring audiences to tears. Nothing is more emotionally provoking than a film where an audience is so desperate for the leads to be together that the consequences when it doesn't come to fruition are devastating and cause the ever-popular ugly cry. Brokeback Mountain is an Oscar classic available for streaming on Amazon Prime.

A common thread among young love, diverging paths are usually the root of emotional break-ups. 6 Years features Taissa Farmiga and Ben Rosenfield as Melanie and Dan, college students whose romance begins to unravel after a six-year relationship, turning toxic. Earning a respectable reception from critics, audiences were not impressed with this romance.

6 Years is a film about first love and how excruciating it can be to let it go. Mel and Dan hit highs and lows as their journey begins to separate, but they are unwilling to let go despite moments of unfaithfulness and violence. For any viewer that's experienced a first love and lost it through or after college, this film will hit you right in the ugly cry zone. Interested streamers can find this film on Netflix and Amazon Prime.

Painting the image of a crackling marriage, Blue Valentine features career-best performances from Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams. To their modest neighborhood, Dean (Gosling) and Cindy's (Williams) marriage appears to be normal, but their lives are beginning to spiral as his lack of ambition challenges her efforts to further her nursing career. The film's editing paces out their love story from its inception to their marriage and finally to its downfall.

Watching their relationship wilt created an emotional journey for the viewer as they felt what each character felt. The film's capability to hit home with the honesty of broken relationships trying to survive created the opportunity for the ugliest of ugly cries when things didn't turn out. Blue Valentine is available for streaming on Amazon Prime.

There had to be one Nicholas Sparks adaptation on this list, even though (arguably) they are all the same story with the same formula. Former high school sweethearts Amanda (Michelle Monaghan) and Dawson (James Marsden) reunite decades later in their small southern hometown after the death of a mutual friend.

Definitely detested by critics (as most Sparks movies are), The Best of Me is a double-whammy break-up film as young Amanda (Liana Liberato) and Dawson (Luke Bracey) inevitably break up under devastating circumstances and, like the standard Sparks genre, are unable to be together later in life. The romance film pulls the ugly cry out, particularly when Monaghan and Marsden take the screen for the late second/early third act break-up, Amanda sobbing, "I wanted you to hold me." If you're the type to stomach a Sparks adaptation that's not The Notebook, The Best of Me is available for rental or purchase on Amazon Prime.

Baited with the comedy, hooked with the ugly cry. While it's no cinematic highlight in the eyes of general critics or audience consensus, The Break-Up does project a realistic look at what a very common type of break-up looks like. Following a blow-out break-up, Brooke (Jennifer Aniston) and Gary (Vince Vaughn) plot to keep the condo they jointly purchased from the other, escalating tactics as the movie progresses.

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The death of this relationship forces out the deepest ugly cry as this couple is desperate to hope the other will change in the ways necessary to keep their relationship together. Throughout the fights and the early break-up scene, Aniston and Vaughn have it out in the most honest, realistic way, mirroring what many couples go through after getting comfortable in a long-term relationship. If this type of break-up is something you've had to go through, and you want to attempt this film, you can find The Break-Up on HBO Max and Amazon Prime.

Whether you want to agree or not, La La Land is a break-up movie and one that didn't punch viewers in the gut until the very end. Mia (Emma Stone) and Sebastian (Gosling) are just two lost souls trying to make it in modern-day Hollywood. As Sebastian's music career begins to elevate, Mia is still struggling to get herself on the map as an actress. Their worlds collide for better, worse, and a good ugly cry.

As if it wasn't enough that the film is a multi-Oscar-winning film, La La Land went the extra mile (like all good films) and broke the romance genre convention, elevating its status in cinematic history. A musical, drama, comedy, romance, and everything in-between, audiences who avoided the film or waited for the hype to die down can find it streaming on Amazon Prime and Hulu.

Drawing parallels to the doomed romance in Brokeback Mountain, Call Me By Your Name brings the same romance arc and meshes it with the burdens of love in a coming-of-age story. Seventeen-year-old Elio (Timothée Chalamet) is spending the summer of 1983 with his family at their Italian villa when he falls for his father's research assistant Oliver (Armie Hammer).

The critically-acclaimed film addresses the issues of self-discovery and the growing pains accompanying it when falling in love. The devastation Elio feels when Oliver leaves and eventually marries a woman is felt by audiences who have experienced the same kind of love and loss. As a young adult, losing that first real love brings on the waterworks to overcome that deeply cut pain. To perhaps relive your first break-up, Call Me By Your Name is available on Amazon Prime.

Taking home an Oscar for its original story, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind demonstrates the drastic nature some will go to for moving on after a breakup. After a tumultuous relationship, Joel (Jim Carrey) and Clementine (Kate Winslet) undergo a medical procedure that erases their core memories of each other and their relationship. Things do not go according to plan, and viewers are taken on a rollercoaster through their relationship's past, present, and future.

Joel and Clementine are the type of couple where one half is more extroverted while the other half is introverted, ideally balancing each other out. Their story is one of communication, acceptance, understanding, and hope. A serious role for the iconic funnyman, Carrey excels as Joel, convincing audiences to root for him and creating devastation amongst viewers as things fall apart. This cinematic gem is available for streaming on Peacock and Amazon Prime.

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Writing from downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Ali's either watching movies or growing her list to watch. Her blog, peskethings, is about film reviews and whether to see it or skip it. She has a Bachelor's in English and minor in creative writing. When she's not writing for Collider, her blog, or Wisconsin Law Journal, you can find her exploring Wisconsin with friends and family.

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