6 Movies To Watch When You’re Missing Someone So Much It’s Eating You Alive

Heartache has a horrific way of altering our minds.

What was once black becomes white; what was vibrant becomes grey; what was warm becomes forgotten. Whether it’s an ex, a friend, an unrequited love, or even a lost version of yourself, you’ll miss it and you can’t change it. It’s exquisite, for a moment, but passion gives way to monotony — a state in which every cell in your body, every vibration, enters dormancy, only to be jolted alive by a texture, a smell, a scarf; any vestige of that person, no matter how small, reminds you of your loss. These are the movies you need in those greyest of times. 

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

Watch it when: You can’t sit with your memories anymore.

Why it works: We all wish we could forget things from our lives. Normally we just want to forget embarrassing moments, if anything just to stop replaying them daily in our heads. Every so often, however, a painful memory, usually of a lost love, resurfaces like a Whac-a-Mole, waiting to beat back into oblivion. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind imagines a world in which that’s literally possible. If you’re missing someone who’s still real, still alive, but unreachable – Eternal Sunshine taps into that sensation. It might even provide closure.  

Call Me by Your Name (2017)

Watch it when: You’re paralyzed by loss.

Why it works: Though the movie centers on the powerful infatuation of a teen, it’s equally relatable for less hormonal viewers. The entire end credits sequence of Timothée crying in front of the fireplace is all of us. Though most of the movie is preoccupied with the highs and lows of the romance between Elio and Oliver — rather than Elio’s subsequent devastation — it’s still ultimately about the agony of losing someone.

Lost in Translation (2003)

Watch it when: You’re surrounded by people, but still somehow lonely.

Why it works: Even in the soft neon glow of Tokyo, thousands of miles from home, it’s possible to find connection. It’s also possible to sever such connections in heart-rending ways, even when such links are between total strangers. Lost in Translation revels in these truths, exalting the importance of shared silence and perfect timing while helping you process any feelings of loss that you have for those people in your life who you met only once.

Her (2013)

Watch it when: You crave someone who may have belonged to someone else.

Why it works: Her follows a writer who falls in love with his Siri — sorry, Samantha. Though this plot sadly sounds like everyday life in 2025, it was considered curious and alarming back in 2013 when the movie came out. In any case, the relationship between the writer (Joaquin Phoenix) and Siri-Samantha turns out to be remarkably passionate, even as Phoenix’s character feels her slip away and even mourns that he never quite had her. Watching Her again (or, for the first time), you’ll feel all his melancholy and perhaps even overcome your own. 

The Wrestler (2008)

Watch it when: You miss a younger, bolder, stronger version of yourself.

Why it works: This movie isn’t just about an aging wrestler. Starring Mickey Rourke in a career comeback performance, it’s about the emotional trauma of realizing you’re no longer who you once loved. Of course, this might be for the best; but the nostalgia and shame of Rourke’s character are palpable as you watch this movie. You’ll pine for a shinier version of yourself, then perhaps let them go.

Wild (2014)

Watch it when: You’ve made some bad choices, losing yourself in the process.

Why it works: Even if you’ve never embarked upon a thousand-mile solo hike to find yourself, you’ll relate to the main character of Wild (Reese Witherspoon) as she escapes her cycle of self-destruction. Ultimately, the movie becomes about her yearning for a past life that she can never again attain. If you happen to be missing an early version of yourself, then this movie is like an emotional boot camp to get you out of your funk.