A review by cbuck13
Madly, Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman by Alan Rickman

4.0

First, realize this review is coming from someone who typically reads fiction so this is out of my wheelhouse. I always loved Alan Rickman as an actor. These diaries are nothing like what I expected, and yet they were still wonderful. What I expected was insight into movies and shows he did. Like a deep dive into a behind the scenes account of his experiences. While there are many glimpses of those, it was more about his everyday life. Lots of references to dinners out, friends he saw, homes he purchased, travels he had, frustrations with flights or struggles within himself. What I found eye opening were things like how he never seemed to believe he was good enough. Or that he struggled with his own tendency to challenge directors he worked with. Or how he knew if a show or movie was well received or not based on if his phone rang a lot (good reviews) or not at all (bad reviews) the day after its release/debut. It took someone I’ve always looked at as a star and humanized him. It reminded me that deep down we humans are all more similar than we are different.