Embrace the art of crying

Weeping in a cinema may still be a bit of ano-no, but not only does it show mental strength it may actually be good for us

- Nick Clark

Sitting in a darkened room snivelling, cheeks wet with tears and nose streaming is a terrible way to spend a night, right? Well, not always... especially not if you're in the cinema and you have just had your heart wrung and mind blown. And forget the stigma around crying in public - fellow audience members' scorn be damned, blubbing away may even be good for you.

Watching the Baftas last week, I was reminded of exactly this experience as clips of All of Us Strangers teased each of its six nominations including for Outstanding British Film, and acting nods for the wonderful Andrew Scott, Claire Foy and Paul Mescal.

I'm not ashamed to say this was a film that set me off when I recently saw it, getting the waterworks going on at least four separate occasions - each time Scott's character Adam talks to the ghosts of his parents at the age they were killed in a car crash, and now younger than Adam himself.

It is a story of familial love, of longing, regret, wish fulfillment, and loss. Beautifully written and directed by Andrew

Haigh, the acting takes the words to a level that doesn't just pull at the heartstrings, it rips them right out. Even for those of us lucky enough to have both parents still alive, it can't help but leave the viewer reduced to a puddle.