My heart broke today with the news that Alan Rickman had died. I have been a fan of his for so many years, so enamored and mesmerized with "the Voice." Seriously, when you heard it, you knew who it was. His voice work alone was amazing! From The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy to Alice in Wonderland; you didn't see him but you heard that wonderfully rich, beautifully distinctive, deeply resonant voice.
And then there was the actor. Yes, he WAS Severus Snape in the Harry Potter movies and I loved him in those movies. Having read the books and knowing Snape, I could see Snape come alive in Rickman. He gave him such depth and sympathy that I cried in the last movie when he died as I cried reading the books. He gave Snape such amazing depth and dimension.
But Alan Rickman was so much more. I loved him in Love Actually, though he played a philanderer. And I adored him in Sense and Sensibility as Colonel Brandon. Words can't describe the poignancy and depth that he brought to that character.
And then there were the villains… From Die Hard to Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, he made villains sexy.
But tonight, I choose Colonel Brandon to remember Mr. Rickman. This is from the Sense and Sensibility soundtrack and it's called Throw the Coins. It's the scene in the movie where he and Marianne walk out of the chapel following their wedding and you're crying because you're SO happy that she now loves him after all this time that he loved her and stood by waiting so patiently and lovingly and now she's his wife and their so happy and he stands up in the carriage with the purse in hand and reaches in and grabs the coins and throws them to all the wedding attendees because that's the tradition and you're crying because you're so happy and it's a lovely end to a lovely movie…[Sob!]
And now this is the end and I'm crying again, because I'll never see that magic again because that wonderful actor is now gone. But I'm grateful for the times we had. Farewell, Alan Rickman. You will be remembered. Always.
All Things Elda 