The film incarnation of "Albert Nobbs" exists as a tremendous example of perseverance and fortitude. Glenn Close first performed a stage version of the play (adapted from a short story from Irish author George Moore) in 1982. She fell in love with the material and spent the next fifteen years trying to put together a film deal. About ten years ago, the film was finally green-lit but then scrapped when financing fell through. Now almost thirty years after appearing on stage as Albert Nobbs, Close has her opportunity to share this quiet little story with a larger audience. In addition to starring in the piece, she co-wrote the screenplay, acted as a producer, and even wrote the lyrics for the closing song. I think you could call this a labor of love! Although mainstream press reaction has been somewhat mixed, Close has received numerous accolades (as has co-star Janet McTeer) including an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. It seems hard to fathom that Close lost out on her previous five nominations and hasn't been in the running since 1988 with "Dangerous Liaisons." But it's certainly good to see her steadfast efforts being recognized.Close is quite restrained and stoic as the titular Albert Nobbs. Set in nineteenth century Ireland, the film tells the story of a woman (Close) who has dedicated thirty years of her life passing as a man in order to make a living. Stolid and reliable, Albert has squirreled away a small fortune through the years and hopes to realize the dream of becoming a shopkeeper. Seemingly content, Albert's life is upended when he meets McTeer--a painter who has a lot more in common with Albert than it seems possible. This new friend opens up a number of interesting possibilities for Albert, making the point that life does not have to be lived alone. Albert starts to court a young co-worker (still as a man) who may have ulterior motives of her own. The film starts as a study of manners, gets a bit more frisky with the introduction of McTeer, and turns a bit darker as a number of unexpected tragedies strike (both large and small). The play of genders is always fascinating and the idea of living a lie just to get by ends up having quite a bit of resonance.
Close is tight-lipped and reserved throughout. It's a strong performance highlighted as much by what she doesn't say as what she does. McTeer really energizes the picture with enthusiasm and humor, and much of the film's success rests on her shoulders. Two terrific up-and-comers, Mia Wasikowska and Aaron Johnson, also play pivotal roles (much more interesting casting than the originally slated Amanda Seyfried and Orlando Bloom). As Close becomes closer to Wasikowska, the gender bending dynamic evolves in an interesting way. Displaying both male and female impulses inwardly, Albert both wants to take care of the young lady and have a confidante. The cast is rounded out by a stable of reliable British actors including Pauline Collins, Brenda Fricker, Brendan Gleeson, and Jonathan Rhys Meyers. The movie has a quiet power. In the long run, it may not be for everyone. It's a little reserved at times, at others the plotting veers toward melodrama. But in the end, the actors ground the piece and make it worth investing in. Close and McTeer really provide one of the year's most fascinating screen couples. KGHarris, 2/12.
Read Best Reviews of Albert Nobbs (2011) Here
The film incarnation of "Albert Nobbs" exists as a tremendous example of perseverance and fortitude. Glenn Close first performed a stage version of the play (adapted from a short story from Irish author George Moore) in 1982. She fell in love with the material and spent the next fifteen years trying to put together a film deal. About ten years ago, the film was finally green-lit but then scrapped when financing fell through. Now almost thirty years after appearing on stage as Albert Nobbs, Close has her opportunity to share this quiet little story with a larger audience. In addition to starring in the piece, she co-wrote the screenplay, acted as a producer, and even wrote the lyrics for the closing song. I think you could call this a labor of love! Although mainstream press reaction has been somewhat mixed, Close has received numerous accolades (as has co-star Janet McTeer) including an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. It seems hard to fathom that Close lost out on her previous five nominations and hasn't been in the running since 1988 with "Dangerous Liaisons." But it's certainly good to see her steadfast efforts being recognized.Close is quite restrained and stoic as the titular Albert Nobbs. Set in nineteenth century Ireland, the film tells the story of a woman (Close) who has dedicated thirty years of her life passing as a man in order to make a living. Stolid and reliable, Albert has squirreled away a small fortune through the years and hopes to realize the dream of becoming a shopkeeper. Seemingly content, Albert's life is upended when he meets McTeer--a painter who has a lot more in common with Albert than it seems possible. This new friend opens up a number of interesting possibilities for Albert, making the point that life does not have to be lived alone. Albert starts to court a young co-worker (still as a man) who may have ulterior motives of her own. The film starts as a study of manners, gets a bit more frisky with the introduction of McTeer, and turns a bit darker as a number of unexpected tragedies strike (both large and small). The play of genders is always fascinating and the idea of living a lie just to get by ends up having quite a bit of resonance.
Close is tight-lipped and reserved throughout. It's a strong performance highlighted as much by what she doesn't say as what she does. McTeer really energizes the picture with enthusiasm and humor, and much of the film's success rests on her shoulders. Two terrific up-and-comers, Mia Wasikowska and Aaron Johnson, also play pivotal roles (much more interesting casting than the originally slated Amanda Seyfried and Orlando Bloom). As Close becomes closer to Wasikowska, the gender bending dynamic evolves in an interesting way. Displaying both male and female impulses inwardly, Albert both wants to take care of the young lady and have a confidante. The cast is rounded out by a stable of reliable British actors including Pauline Collins, Brenda Fricker, Brendan Gleeson, and Jonathan Rhys Meyers. The movie has a quiet power. In the long run, it may not be for everyone. It's a little reserved at times, at others the plotting veers toward melodrama. But in the end, the actors ground the piece and make it worth investing in. Close and McTeer really provide one of the year's most fascinating screen couples. KGHarris, 2/12.
Want Albert Nobbs (2011) Discount?
There is a comment spoken by maid Helen (Mia Wasikowska) as Albert Nobbs (Glenn Close) tries to court her: `You are the strangest man I have ever met.' And that is most assuredly true Albert Nobbs is a woman trapped in a man's body. Literally. Because Albert is physically, a woman who has escaped the smothering poverty of 19th-century Dublin by cutting her hair, putting on a cutaway, and taking a job as a waiter in a small, posh hotel. It's a difficult masquerade, but one she's done for decades, while carefully saving her shillings tips she likely wouldn't get if she were just a woman, working in the kitchen to eventually by a Tobacconist shop and live a normal life.ALBERT NOBBS is a brilliant film, a film adapted form a short by George Moore, extended by István Szabó, and adapted for the screen by John Banville, Gabriella Prekop, and star Glenn Close (Close starred in the stage version of this story years ago), and directed with sensitive finesse by Rodrigo García (son of Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez and responsible of the penetrating television series `In Treatment'). The atmosphere of Dublin as a city is captured both in the scenery and in the psychological sense a city that survived typhoid fever and extensive years of poverty yet still supporting a wealthy upper class.
We are slowly introduced to a classy hotel run by Mrs. Baker (Pauline Collins) and with a staff of `servants/waiters' that includes the quiet and reserved Albert Nobbs. Mrs. Baker hires a down and out Lad named Joe (Aaron Johnson, remembered for his impressive performance in `Nowhere Boy') to fix the broken boiler. This allows Joe to begin to court the maid Helen: Joe discovers that Albert Nobbs seems sweet on Helen and urges her to get enough money out of dating Nobbs to get them fare to flee the poverty of Dublin and go to America. Mrs. Baker also hires a painter, Mr Page (Janet McTeer) and while Mr Page is working there Mrs Baker insists he share a bed with Albert Nobbs. It is during this terrifying trauma for Nobbs that the two women dressed as men discover each other's secret disguises and Nobbs learns that Page is married to Cathleen (Bronagh Gallagher). Nobbs future hopes brighten she is saving all her money hidden in the floor of her room until many factors takes turns of the worse: Typhoid fever strikes which decimates the hotel's business putting everyone out of a job, Helen becomes pregnant by the unwilling father Joe, Cathleen falls victim, etc. The story comes to a tragic ending, but leaves a ray of hope that perhaps Nobb's and Page's brave lives have made a difference.
In addition to the brilliant performance by Glenn Close and Janet McTeer, the rest of the cast is excellent Mia Wasikowska, Phyllida Law, Aaron Johnson, Brenda Fricker, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Brendan Gleeson as the alcoholic but caring Dr. Holloran, Jonathan Rhys Meyers to name only a few of the fine actors in very small roles. This is a deeply moving film, polished to a fare-thee-well in every aspect, and for this viewer it is one of the finest films to be released in 2011. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, April 12
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