he's just on morphine now

I was sitting in the cinema, with a large group of fellow cinemaphiles, intently watching "Dallas Buyers Club". When that line was uttered in the hospital setting, I was not the only one who drew a sharp intake of breath just before the wave of sadness washed over us.
Far too many times have I heard that phrase for those I love.
There's a reason I had not seen this film a month or so ago when it was over the river and through the woods away from me. I had resolved to not deliberately go to those movies which would - notice, I did not say might - make me sob. I did quite well at maintaining that resolve, too.
There are quite a few films with Oscar potential which debuted on the screen this fall. The only one that I attended, "Gravity", I had postponed seeing, concerned that it might adversely affect my mental state. I need not have been concerned. Those who have been saddened by that film must not have lost six family and friends since July. I thought the film was beautifully done and did not shed a single tear.
"Captain Phillips"? Not yet seen the death on the high seas.
"The Wolf of Wall Street"? Sadness from the money-mad? Not interested.
"Nebraska"? A bit too cold for me, I fear.
"12 Years A Slave"? Old sadness, rehashed? No, thank you.
"August: Osage County"? The only reason I might is for Meryl Streep.
"Philomena"? So much sadness, even with Dame Judith Dench as a draw.
"Before Midnight"? Love gone wrong for two pretty people. No.
And then there are those which have not yet, or only recently, graced the big screens here in town: "American Hustle", "Inside Llewelyn Davis", "Her". And one critical choice, the all-Redford, all the time, "All is Lost" has yet to appear in Savannah.
That's not to say I haven't seen some contenders. "Blue Jasmine", in particular, was very, very good and I just loved the ending! Two young men in the audience with me didn't "get it", but hopefully they'll get more life experience to better appreciate the wry twist.
"Saving Mr. Banks" was a spur of the moment, post New Year's Day dinner, option which I might not have taken if my first niece hadn't been so eager to go see the backstory on Mary Poppins. But it made me miss my Daddy and made me cry, just as it did Emma Thompson's character.
"Lee Daniels' The Butler" is this year's "Forrest Gump". You know what I mean? A film that serves well as a history primer, mostly. Forest Whitaker does a fine job with his character, but I would have liked more of the volatile patriarch and less of the stoic-faced political servant. Then again, don't we all have at least two faces we use as we traverse the plain between private and public personae?