Is there a niche audience for this sort of thing?

I thought this movie was powerful, well crafted and expertly acted (Catherine Keener's best?), but gadzooks what a depressing ride for 2 hours.

It's a movie about death & grieving, so we sorta know what we're in for. I'll avoid plot spoilers in case any masochists want to give this a spin. It's told in 3 parts, each part focusing on a death and the way loved ones attach emotions to objects left behind ("Nostalgia").

If you can get past the unrelenting gloom, brooding piano score, grey visuals, and heart wrenching monologues (Ellen Burnstyn's best?), the movie does make an interesting observation. Each of the 3 parts focuses on a different type of object: 1) worthless junk, 2) precious treasures, 3) intangible e-objects (emails, digital images, mp3s). And it shows how people react differently to each, while showing that all of these objects are essentially meaningless.

There are a couple great lines that really make you think. But this movie is emotionally exhausting. Makes you wonder, is there a point where a movie is too depressing for its own good? Sort of like some Disney flicks are too sugary sweet, is this the opposite fail?