Alan Rickman in Eye in the Sky
Today I made up my mind to watch Eye in the Sky, the movie about drone warfare directed by Gavin Hood. I was going to put it off until the last possible minute but I had some free time earlier and I thought, "Why not?" And the movie made me emotional in one big way. That is because this was one of Alan Rickman's last movies.
I thought I was prepared to see him in one of his last roles. But it turned out that I wasn't. He played General Frank Benson, a military commander who has to decide whether or not to drop a missile on a terrorist residence housing two suicide bombers ready to go while a little girl lived in the next door. This is a film that's scary because it depicts how politicians and soldiers can decide to end a person's, or several persons', life by looking at a monitor and talking to each other via webcam. It doesn't matter how realistic, or how fantastical, this set-up may be. The point is, nothing is scarier than having someone spy on you and making decisions about your life without you knowing. And Benson's character was particularly memorable because even though he was this tough-looking general, he was shown also as a family man who had to go to a toy shop and buy a doll for his granddaughter before he risked the life of another little girl in another part of the world! The idea is just insane.
So I was really, really emotional when I saw his last shot - of him walking down a corridor with his subordinate - and carrying that doll. It felt like I was saying goodbye to him and all of his great roles - Professor Snape and Colonel Brandon especially - all over again. And I literally cried inside the theater and I was a mess for something that had nothing to do with the movie, but for a reason that was simply the fact that I admired this actor and his talent so very much.
At this rate, I think I might just avoid Alice Through The Looking Glass forever. Then again I don't think I could. What better way than to say farewell to an idol than to properly appreciate his talents one last time? Here's to Alan Rickman - I'll remember you, always.
I thought I was prepared to see him in one of his last roles. But it turned out that I wasn't. He played General Frank Benson, a military commander who has to decide whether or not to drop a missile on a terrorist residence housing two suicide bombers ready to go while a little girl lived in the next door. This is a film that's scary because it depicts how politicians and soldiers can decide to end a person's, or several persons', life by looking at a monitor and talking to each other via webcam. It doesn't matter how realistic, or how fantastical, this set-up may be. The point is, nothing is scarier than having someone spy on you and making decisions about your life without you knowing. And Benson's character was particularly memorable because even though he was this tough-looking general, he was shown also as a family man who had to go to a toy shop and buy a doll for his granddaughter before he risked the life of another little girl in another part of the world! The idea is just insane.
So I was really, really emotional when I saw his last shot - of him walking down a corridor with his subordinate - and carrying that doll. It felt like I was saying goodbye to him and all of his great roles - Professor Snape and Colonel Brandon especially - all over again. And I literally cried inside the theater and I was a mess for something that had nothing to do with the movie, but for a reason that was simply the fact that I admired this actor and his talent so very much.
At this rate, I think I might just avoid Alice Through The Looking Glass forever. Then again I don't think I could. What better way than to say farewell to an idol than to properly appreciate his talents one last time? Here's to Alan Rickman - I'll remember you, always.