5 Movies You Should Actually Watch After A Breakup

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1. Shrink. (2009)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heBOLodYfUI&w=1280&h=720]

Why: This has been one of my favorite movies for a few years now. It’s my go-to  “Help, I feel helpless” movie. It follows the storylines multiple characters (which of course intertwine at some point or another) and their various struggles. A couple of the characters are dealing with death, which I like because breakups definitely represent a sort of metaphorical death. It does indeed make me cry, but not in the “I will never be happy again” kind of way.

2. Ordinary People. (1980)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IS5HPlpe7Y&w=1280&h=720]

Why:  This is similar to Shrink in that it might make you cry (does the trick for me), and deals heavily with death. It portrays real human emotion in multiple ways, and somehow listening to Mary Tyler Moore have a breakdown about something I have never felt makes me feel like I relieved some pent-up emotion I can’t relate to.

3. American Psycho. (2000)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GIsExb5jJU&w=1280&h=720]

Why: At least your ex isn’t a psychopath that cut you up. And it’s just a good movie, albeit a very dark one.  The sex scenes might make you feel oddly lonely at first, but they’ll also serve as cautionary measures when you finally do get back out there — it’ll remind you to keep yourself together before jumping towards the first guy that wants to take you to dinner, or the first that says says something creepy to you at a bar. Or the guy that you think is just being funny, but is actually telling the truth.

4. Side Effects. (2013)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFEou3MBLi4&w=1280&h=720]

Why: It follows a woman going through depression, immersed in a world of anti-depressants. The plot twist, though! The plot twist! It will leave you feeling weird and confused and probably awful–but at least YOU haven’t reached that level. Am I right?! Suspenseful enough to keep you distracted for 100 minutes, and disturbing enough to keep you from thinking about anything else the rest of the night.

5. Girl, Interrupted.(1999).

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BHHUBZf7y4&w=1280&h=720]

Why: There’s nothing I love more when I’m feeling down than to watch other people doing worse than I am. I can’t be the only one. Plus, we’re talking about Angelina Jolie and Winona Ryder.

Now go distract yourself! Be sad if you need to be sad, just don’t go as insane as these beautifully disturbed people 🙂