History Woobie / Film

** Martha: She had to raise a child with unique needs and issues, watched her husband die minutes after said son, in a fit of anger, called them both out on 'not being his real parents', before then said son disappeared for years. When he returns and happily tells her about how he found his birth-culture, she looks like her heart broke but wants to keep a brave face since he's so happy.

* 2 of the 3 leads in ''MyBlueHeaven'' qualify for this trope. While [[IronWoobie FBI agent Barney Coopersmith]] was keeping an eye out on troublemaker Vincent "Vinnie" Antonelli so that he doesn't get in trouble, Barney's wife leaves him for a younger man, one of the reasons being how Barney eats his pancakes. Woobie #2 is policewoman Hannah Stubbs, who appears to be having a worse life than Barney. She and her husband are divorced, but he still visits her and their kids. [[spoiler: At some point in the movie, it proves that being a Woobie is what Barney and Hannah have in common, and they have a romantic attraction to each other despite how they first met.]]

* Seymour from ''Film/GhostWorld''. Unusual in that he has an aggressive trait (road rage), but his self-loathing and romance woes easily makes up for it in Woobifying him. They filmed two separate versions of the fight scene in the convenience store -- one in which he wins, and one in which [[spoiler: he ends up in the hospital.]] Guess which one made it to the finished version?

* ''Film/{{Paddington}}''. He loses his uncle, his home, and he's forced to go to a new country and hope for the charity of others to survive.

* Somehow, {{JCVD}} manages to turn Jean-Claude Van Damme into a Woobie.

* LawrenceTalbot, aka Universal Studios' ''Film/TheWolfMan1941'', is an early example. Poor guy gets bitten by a monster, catches TheVirus, involuntarily kills a bunch of people, and gets beaten to death by his own father. And in the sequels, he escapes from the grave, learns he ''can't'' stay dead, kills his own LoveInterest in a moon-mad rage, and spends most of the rest of the series as a fugitive from the law and/or the insane asylum, vainly seeking the means to commit suicide and/or destroy the wolf within. ''Definitely'' a guy in need of a hug.

** Brad Dourif tends to [[{{Myst}} play woobies]] when he's not playing [[Film/ChildsPlay bad guys]]. And sometimes he plays [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings bad guy woobies]]. I swear it's those overly-expressive eyes... *sniffle*

* ''Film/{{Maleficent}}'': Aurora, who was the [[Disney/SleepingBeauty Sleeping Beauty]] of Disney's own 1959 film. She's cursed like in the original tale, but this retelling portrays her as nothing more than an innocent caught in the crossfire of her father and Maleficent's war (which itself serves as a microcosm for the overall [[FantasticRacism hatred]] between humans and TheFairFolk). This version also subjects her to an AdaptationalAngstUpgrade, with her actually ''learning'' about her curse and breaking down when she realizes that the woman she loved and saw as her FairyGodmother was the person who cursed her to begin with.

* ''Film/{{Maleficent}}'': Aurora, who was the [[Disney/SleepingBeauty Sleeping Beauty]] of Disney's own 1959 film. She's cursed like in the original tale, but this retelling places emphasis on how she is nothing more than an innocent caught in the crossfire of her father and Maleficent's war (which itself serves as a microcosm for the overall [[FantasticRacism hatred]] between humans and TheFairFolk). This version also subjects her to an AdaptationalAngstUpgrade, with her actually ''learning'' about her curse and breaking down when she realizes that the woman she loved and saw as her FairyGodmother was the person who cursed her to begin with.

* Even if you don't like President BarackObama, you will still feel sympathy over the MortonsFork[=/=]SadisticChoice Bane faces him with.

* 85% of Creator/CharlieChaplin 's movies feature a lonely tramp, who doesn't only looks pathetic, but is also a very kind and polite man who commits petty crimes (such as stealing food) only out of hunger and despair, as you see him doing his best to be accepted by society. Apart from TheGoldRush, he rarely gets out of his misery, but shows so much determination that you would love to give him a bowl of soup.

* ''Film/Braveheart''

* Lilly from AlphaAndOmega definately qualifies as a woobie.

* Su-in from ''DeadFriend''. Poor, poor Su-in.

* Andrew in ''Bicentennial Man.''

* Gary at the end of ''TheLastAmericanVirgin''.
* Eduardo Saverin in "TheSocialNetwork", especially when you realize that this is all based on a true story...
* Harry Osborn from the ''Film/{{Spider-Man}}'' films, son of Norman Osborn, the Green Goblin. Harry's in the comics, too, but woobification seems to have eluded him there: not only is he portrayed, prior to his death, as an abusive husband and father, occasional drug addict, and all-around nasty piece of work (albeit not entirely unsympathetically), he's also drawn to look significantly less attractive than James Franco.
** Sandman from ''Spider-Man 3''. He just wants to cure his daughter from some mysterious illness but since he doesn't has the money for medical care, he was in desperation forced to do crime in order to get them. In one of his robberings, he [[spoiler:accidentally killed Uncle Ben]], a mistake that would hunt him with much remorse and guilt. When he got his super powers, he decided to use them in order to get the money, but not before visting his daughter, giving her the post cards he had written for her but wasn't allowed to send. After the final battle with Spider-Man, in which both [[spoiler:Harry and Eddie]] died, he's obviously in deep regret of the situation he played part off that went out of hand and the last scene has him asking Spider-Man for forgiveness for the pain he had caused him.
* Donnie Darko from ''DonnieDarko''. One one hand he has a loving family, but on the other hand he experiences [[spoiler: mental illness, unrelenting paranormal apparitions, [[MoralGuardians a moronic and restrictive education system]], puberty (and its associated existential angst), assault at knifepoint (twice), and the tragic death of his girlfriend (which drives him to second degree murder).]] And after all that [[spoiler: he elects to be fatally crushed by a rogue jet engine in order to protect his family, girlfriend, Frank and possibly the rest of Earth's population, according to which hypothesis you subscribe to.]] And after all of that [[spoiler: his sacrifice remains ultimately unsuspected.]] On top of that, he is portrayed by (a teenage) Jake Gyllenhaal, whose cuddly face and baby-blue eyes render him an Extreme Hardcore woobie, aesthetically if nothing else.
** To say nothing of [[MaggieGyllenhaal his sister]]. Seeing her at the end, you just want to hug her brains out.
*** Very true. Both the Gyllensibs are adorable.

* Milton Dammers, from TheFrighteners. He is a mass of phobias and nerves, highly-strung to the point where he seems on the verge of pain. We find out that his early FBI assignments all involved going undercover in satanic cults, where he had to tolerate intensely mentally-damaging experiences, as well as physical and sexual trauma. When we see his bare chest, it is covered in ritual scars and his nipples seem to have been burnt off. It's hard to watch the movie without wanting to wrap him a blanket and massage his temples.
* Charlie Baileygates in ''MeMyselfAndIrene''. He gets taken advantage by everyone, even his own wife, Layla, who remarries to a black dwarf limo driver. All that sadness Charlie has and being taken advantage by everyone years later lead to [[spoiler: SplitPersonality Hank to appear.]]

* Michelle from ''Elephant''. It's hard to not draw parallels between her, Eric, and Alex, but for choosing to persevere through the bullying she endures, she's simply the first to die. Not that anyone expects Eric or Alex to survive the day.
* ''TheBreakfastClub'' is about five Woobies locked in a room together for a day. They share. They commiserate. They cry. ''And it's still funny.''

* Seymour from ''GhostWorld''. Unusual in that he has an aggressive trait (road rage), but his self-loathing and romance woes easily makes up for it in Woobifying him. They filmed two separate versions of the fight scene in the convenience store -- one in which he wins, and one in which [[spoiler: he ends up in the hospital.]] Guess which one made it to the finished version?

* Diane Selwyn from ''MulhollandDrive'' definitely qualifies. Naomi Watts' performance really makes you feel for her.

* Nicolas Cage as David Spritz from ''The Weather Man''. The poor guy constantly tries to make things right for people other than himself, and rarely gets thrown a bone.

* Quite a couple of Paul Dano's characters fit this trope - the depressed, sweet but eventually embittered homeless man/bartender of ''The Good Heart'', the chronically lonely, confused would-be transvestite of ''The Extra Man'', wilfully-mute teenager Dwayne with his crushed dream in ''LittleMissSunshine''. Even the repulsive Eli Sunday of ''Film/ThereWillBeBlood'' eventually elicits sympathy. Despite his range, his innocent awkwardness, faltering voice and ugly-cute appearance seem to see him easily cast in such roles.

* Most of William H. Macy's roles qualify for this trope. ''TheCooler'' is actually a movie built around this trope.
* An interesting example can be found in ''MidnightCowboy''. Rizzo starts off as a sleazy {{jerkass}}, but he slowly devolves into a {{woobie}}. This is mostly due to his IncurableCoughOfDeath.

* Celie from TheColorPurple. Let's see... she was raped by her father '''twice,''' had children both times and had both promptly taken away, her mother died yelling at her, she was forced to marry a man she didn't even know, let alone like, who abused, raped, and forced her to do all the work around the house, including taking care of his bratty kids, who literally ''made her bleed'' the ''very first day'' she came. When her sister, who was the '''only''' person who actually cared about her came to stay, Celie's husband made his move on ''her,'' and when she refused, made her leave and kept her letters from Celie, making her think she was dead! And this is the first half hour, people...
* In ''Film/{{Downfall}}'', Hitler's secretary, [[BreakTheCutie Traudl Junge]].
** The scene where Minister of Armaments Albert Speer chillingly infers the fate of the Goebbel children leaves Traudl in tears and denial. Made all the worse by Speer's refusal to show emotion. In real life, Speer was quite close to the Goebbel's,as Speer and Joseph allied themselves against Goering.

* Bub from the original ''DayOfTheDead''. An undead creature hungry for human flesh has never been more sympathetic. The masterpiece of Dr. Logan's experiment of mental conditioning of zombies, his affection to his "trainer" is both genuine and touching. You really just want to hug him when he screams and cries after realizing that the good doctor is dead and is not coming back.

* The hunchback Ephialtes in ''[[ThreeHundred 300]]'' starts out like this.

** The actor who portrays him, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, pretty much specializes in playing this type of character. See ''InfernalAffairs'', ''Film/HardBoiled'', or pretty much any of his films directed by Wong Kar-Wai. He probably qualifies as one in RealLife, too, since the reason he gives for being so good at emotional scenes is that his gambler father left his family when Leung was eight and after that he bottled up his emotions... and now uses acting as an outlet for them.

* Bertie/GeorgeVI in TheKingsSpeech. As he tells Lionel after the death of George V; the reason he stammers is because of an abusive nanny, an teasing older brother who was egged on by his father, the brother that he was closest to died young, and was forced to wear painful splints to treat his knock knees.
* Micky in ''TheFighter''. He's the family's unfavorite, his mother mismanages his boxing career (even nearly getting him killed so his family can get paid), his crackhead brother is usually getting him into trouble, his ex-wife treats him like a failure and when he becomes happy by finding a new girlfriend, his family tries to take that away from him. This guy seriously needs a hug.
* Carla Jean Moss (KellyMacdonald) in ''NoCountryForOldMen''. That Anton Chigurh was able to just kill her like that shows how much of a monster he really is.
* Poor little Danny from {{Zathura}}.
* Alex Russo, in the first half of the WizardsOfWaverlyPlace movie. Though she's usually a JerkAss throughout most of the series, it's easy to relate to her situation-she just wanted to go to a party, and just when it looks like she's about to finally make her mother change her mind, Theresa discovers Alex's plan, and fed up with her refusal to give up, grounds her for two months, which leads Alex to cast a spell that accidentally threatens her family's existence. The fact that Alex wanted to go to that party so badly but couldn't make amends does make you feel sorry for her. [[spoiler: At the end of the movie after everything is resolved, she finally agrees to let Alex go for a little while, but Alex, having realized how important her family is, decides to stick with them, and the movie ends with the five family members together.]]

** Hank [=McCoy=], he not only gets "[[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything outed]]" as being a mutant in the most awkward way possible in front of his dad, he loses said dad in a raid on the CIA (something that mind you never gets brought up, ever!), gets [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer teased and disrespected by his fellow mutants]] even when his scientific inventions help them improve their powers, loses his potential love interest when he can't accept her for her true appearance, and then accidentally advances his mutation and makes it impossible to hide while trying to cure it!

* CillianMurphy's character from ''Film/{{Inception}}'', big time. You ''will'' cry when you see him [[spoiler: crying over his dying father's accepting last words in Dream Level Three]], which is all he ever really wanted. However, [[spoiler: since it's quite literally AllJustADream, he may or may not have gotten that acceptance after all and it may have only been a projection of what he ''wished'' his father's final words have been]]. Poor guy...

* Rogue of the Film/{{X-Men}} films counts as one, especially in the first movie.
** [[spoiler:Teenaged Cyclops]] in ''Film/XMenOriginsWolverine''. Poor little guy. Awwwwwwww.
*** Plenty wanted to give him a hug during ''Film/XMenTheLastStand'' [[spoiler: And then Jean killed him.]]
** ''Film/XMenFirstClass'':\\\
Charles, Raven, and especially Erik.\\\
Hank [=McCoy=], he not only gets "[[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything outed]]" as being a mutant in the most awkward way possible in front of his dad, he loses said dad in a raid on the CIA (something that mind you never gets brought up, ever!), gets [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer teased and disrespected by his fellow mutants]] even when his scientific inventions help them improve their powers, loses his potential love interest when he can't accept her for her true appearance, and then accidentally advances his mutation and makes it impossible to hide while trying to cure it!

** [[{{Magneto}} Erik Lehnsherr]], as a [[UsedToBeASweetKid child and teenager]] in.

* Hank [=McCoy=] from ''Film/XMenFirstClass'', he not only gets "[[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything outed]]" as being a mutant in the most awkward way possible in front of his dad, he loses said dad in a raid on the CIA (something that mind you never gets brought up, ever!), gets [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer teased and disrespected by his fellow mutants]] even when his scientific inventions help them improve their powers, loses his potential love interest when he can't accept her for her true appearance, and then accidentally advances his mutation and makes it impossible to hide while trying to cure it!

** [[spoiler:[[Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier The Winter Soldier]] AKA Bucky [[BrainwashedAndCrazy brainfried]] Barnes. He was thought dead after he fell from a Hydra train. He survived but was captured. For the next 70 years he was either in cold storage or used as an assassin -- during which he was implied to be routinely mindwiped.]]

* Edward Norton as Dr Bruce Banner in 2008 ''Film/TheIncredibleHulk''.