Review: Albert Nobbs
Academy Award nominations were announced earlier this week, and the gender-bending period film Albert Nobbs garnered multiple nominations including the Best Actress category for Glenn Close. Close won an Obie in 1982 for her off-Broadway performance as Albert Nobbs, and had worked since then to bring the character to life onscreen. She was so passionate about this role that she also co-produced, co-wrote the screenplay, and wrote the lyrics for the movie's main theme music, an Irish lullaby "Lay Your Head Down."
In one of the most challenging roles of her career, Close plays a woman who for 30 years represented herself as a man in order to have a "life of decency" in 19th-century Ireland. Albert Nobbs survives by working as a servant in a hotel, nearly invisible to the upper-class guests and thought of as an odd and curious fellow by co-workers. Albert is so distanced from others in her attempt to fade into the woodwork, that she lacks intimate contact with others.
Albert finally decides to marry and settle down, setting her dreams on opening a tobacconist shop with chambermaid Helen (Mia Wasikowska) as counter-girl and "wife." However, Helen has her heart set on another, the handsome but rough boilerman Joe Macken (Aaron Johnson). Joe has intentions for Albert as well -- as the means to escape to America when he realizes that Albert must have a small fortune tucked away. Joe convinces Helen to go along with the courtship to pilfer money from Albert, but complications occur that thwart everyone's well-laid plans.
The irony of Albert Nobbs is the strength and determination of the female characters in a time when women were repressed and forced out of work by gender discrimination and the formation of men-only trades guilds. Helen has managed to escape the back alleys of Dublin, and Albert finds the courage to move onto a better life after a chance encounter with house painter Hubert Page (Janet McNeer). Hubert, who is married to Cathleen (Bronagh Gallagher), shares Albert's secret in more ways than one.
The casting in Albert Nobbs is stellar, and despite Close's familiarity to her character, the truly amazing performance is from McNeer as Hubert. McNeer's brutish and expressive representation of Hubert is engaging and often humorously entertaining, and understandable why she also received an Oscar nomination for the actress in a supporting role category. Wasikowska brings just enough innocence and desperation to her role, and Gallagher's brief screen time is an understated yet endearing presence. Close's performance is admirable, but at times is stiffer than the overstarched collar and chest bindings that she wears for nearly the entirety of the film.
The male cast of Albert Nobbs are well matched, with Aaron Johnson (Kick-Ass) growing into a more complex role and Jonathan Rhys Meyers in a brief role as the Viscount Yarrell, who has his own secrets that play out in adjoining rooms of Morrison's Hotel. McNeer's co-star from Into the Storm, Brendan Gleeson, portrays Dr. Holloran ... who formidably delivers the film's best line: "We are both disguised as ourselves".
The cinematography partnered with the art and costume design of Albert Nobbs captures the Victorian era well, from the dirty alleys of Dublin to the perfectly polished and placed settings in the hotel's dining room. The pacing may seem slightly slow in a few places, but I found the story rather engaging and overall well paced. I highly recommend seeing this film when it hits theaters this week, and know at least who I'll be placing my bets on the Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.
Texas connections: Co-producer Bonnie Curtis was born in Texas and graduated from Abilene Christian University. She was the 2004 Women in Film Topaz Award from the Dallas chapter. Executive producers John C. Goff and Cami Goff are from Fort Worth.