8. Road to Perdition
An underrated film from the noughties, this one, and one that should be sought out straight after reading this by the unfamiliar.
Tumultuous father & son relationships bring out a lot of emotions in men and there hasn’t really been any other film quite like this to hug at those heartstrings. Tom Hanks plays a gangster who is forced to go on the run with his son: someone who he has never really connected with before. Over the course of the film, the two bond and learn about each other and all signs point towards a happy ending.
This being a Sam Mendes film, that obviously doesn’t happen. Hanks’ character is gunned down in the finale, leaving his son to reflect on their short time spent together. The video above shows an earlier scene which is more gutting than tearjerking. YouTube doesn’t have the clip, apparently. All the more reason to seek it out.
7. Gladiator
This really hits home for any guy who wants the little guy to win. The little guy in this case is Russell Crowe’s Maximus and he pays the price for vengeance with his own life in the coliseum.
When I first watched this as a wee sprog at about ten years of age, I wept. Oh, how I wept. I had held back the man tears during every supposedly sad film up until but there’s just something devastating at seeing Maximus’ hand glide over plants on the way to seeing his family again. It’s an unforgettable image.
The image, sadly is all in Maximus’ mind as he lays dying in the stadium, having been stabbed surreptitiously by the Emperor before their big fight. After landing the killer blow, Maximus succumbs to his injuries and we all succumb to the weeping.
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