Cinema has the ability to cast a spell over its audience, to keep our eyes firmly gripped to the screen and not want to even blink for fear of missing something special. What is even stranger is when that is the case despite being transported to a world that’s so bleak you’d think that the first thing you’d want to do would be to look away! So what is it about these dark, sombre films that keep us so mesmerised? Could it be the intriguing lives of others that are brought to light such as in Todd Solondz’s Happiness? The sense of desperate hope for a better life like in Darren Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream? Or the incredible performances that a melancholic plot can bring from actors such as with Kenneth Lonergan’s Manchester by the Sea?

With the fantastic Oscar-winning Manchester by the Sea releasing on digital download on May 8^th and on DVD, Blu-ray and On Demand from May 15^th, there’s no better time to take a look at some of cinemas most incredible, yet tragically melancholic films…

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