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When somebody says the name of Alan Rickman, a lot of younger viewers immediately think of Severus Snape, who started out as one of the antagonists only to become a great hero in the series when it was revealed he worked as a double agent for Albus Dumbledore. While Alan Rickman has left his everlasting mark on the world of Harry Potter, he has a lot of other interesting roles under his belt.
One thing that connects them is that Rickman always gave a strong performance, regardless of whether he played the leading part or a supporting one or what movie genre he appeared in. Despite his popularity, there are still some excellent underappreciated Alan Rickman movies that all fans of the actor should pay more attention to.
5 Truly Madly Deeply (1990)
Known for playing serious roles, most notably Severus Snape in the Harry Potter series and the main antagonist Hans Gruber in Die Hard (1988), not everyone might immediately realize that Alan Rickman also excelled in romantic comedies. Truly Madly Deeply doesn't start as a typical romcom, though, as Jamie (Rickman) dies and Nina (Juliet Stevenson) is grieving.
When Jamie comes back as a ghost, Nina is overjoyed at first, but when she starts building a bond with a new man, she has to decide whether she still needs Jamie by her side or whether she's ready to move on. The audience is invested in Nina's story and wants to know how it will end, and what decision she'll make. Truly Madly Deeply also offers a unique view of the afterlife, making it one of the most original romantic comedies and a hidden jewel that's both touching and hilarious.
4 Closet Land (1991)
Despite being a kind person, as the actors who worked with Alan Rickman reported in the recent HBO document Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts, Rickman often played antagonists, or at the very least, morally gray characters. In Closet Land, Rickman portrays a sadistic policeman who's interrogating a writer because he thinks her work might be aimed against the government.
The movie creates an intense vision of a future where people can easily be persecuted for something they didn't do just because someone reads too much into their words. It isn't easy to watch, considering the amount of misery the writer goes through, but that doesn't make Alan Rickman's performance any less chilling. What makes the movie and the actors' work even more special is the fact that the entire story takes place in a single room.
3 Rasputin (1996)
Playing a historical figure in a movie based on real events is always a good way for actors how to show off their talent, since it requires a lot of skill. Alan Rickman was British, yet he gave a nuanced performance as Rasputin, the infamous monk who held a significant position of power at the court of the Russian Czar Nicholas II. As a TV movie, Rasputin runs for over two hours, which gives it a good chance to explore various facets of Rasputin's life, as well as his complex personality.
Some viewers criticized the movie for the lack of historical accuracy, but, even though Rasputin takes some liberty with history, it doesn't change the fact that Alan Rickman is brilliant in the titular role. The movie has a strong cast overall, with Sir Ian McKellen playing Czar Nicholas.
2 Snow Cake (2006)
Alan Rickman has appeared in many blockbuster movies, but his more intimate drama pieces often went largely unnoticed by the audience, despite the fact that roles like these gave Rickman the best chance to show off his wide acting range in the movies. In Snow Cake, Rickman plays Alex Hughes, a man who's traumatized by a car accident he caused and that led to the death of a young woman Vivienne. Alex later visits and befriends Vivienne's autistic mother Linda (Sigourney Weaver). But the problems are far from over for him as Alex's past can come back at any time to haunt him.
Despite the brilliant cast, this movie didn't get a lot of attention from the audience and only has about thirteen thousand ratings on IMDb. One of the reasons could be that it shows the darker side of life, which is something not every viewer is prepared to deal with. However, Snow Cake approaches its topic in a sensitive way, and in the end, comes across as an intelligent and touching movie that no fan of Alan Rickman, Sigourney Weaver, or Carrie-Anne Moss, who plays Linda's neighbor Maggie, should miss out on watching.
1 The Song Of Lunch (2010)
Television movies don't usually get as much attention as those screening in cinemas. The Song of Lunch is a good alternative for everyone who wants to watch a movie with Alan Rickman but only has a limited amount of time, since the movie lasts 50 minutes. It stars two of the greatest actors of British cinema — Rickman and Emma Thompson — who play two former lovers who reunite for a lunch.
The seemingly simple premise works as the audience delves deep into the lives of the characters, what they share about themselves, and what they hide from each other. A fun fact is that it isn't the first time Rickman and Thompson played a couple. They did so in the Christmas movie Love Actually (2003) and years before that in the Jane Austen successful adaptation of Sense and Sensibility (1996).