Truly, Deeply, Sadly

Man, oh man. Or since I'm United Church, person oh person! First Bowie dead at 69, now Alan Rickman at the same age, in the same week.

I really appreciated Rickman as an actor, although his recurring role as Severus Snape in the Harry Potter films was among my least favourite. I'm not sure why. He was good as an evil genius, or a philandering husband, or as a lovelorn aristocrat. He took some fun comedic turns as well.



My favourite Rickman film was Truly, Madly, Deeply, in which he plays a dead guy. It's been a long time since I've seen TMD but I found it a touching and imaginative meditation on loss and grief. 

Even those of us who have a resurrection hope must deal with the profound realities of loss and when our "heavenly hope" is portrayed in simplistic terms we can actually suffer more as we move through grief. What's our problem? Jesus gives us new life, so don't worry, be happy. In truth we hope through the tears, accepting that grief has its own way, and the healing of our spirits can't fit anyone else's timeline.

It's tough to find old movies since the demise of the video store, but Truly, Madly, Deeply really would be worth a look. I would be interested in seeing it again.

Does anyone else remember TMD? Did you find that it captured a sense of what it means to live through loss?

RIP Alan. You will be truly, deeply, sadly missed. Here is a meaningful tribute to Ryckman by Daniel Radcliffe his Potter co-star. https://plus.google.com/+DanielRadcliffe/posts/SG1NZZvTKRt