Anssi Vartiainen Glenn Close plays the titular character Albert Nobbs in this 19th century period drama. Times are tough and women are not encouraged to seek out their own fortunes. Which is why Mr. Nobbs is hiding her true gender in order to be able to work. But things are knocked out of balance when he meets Mr. Paige (Janet McTeer), who's hiding a secret of his own.Albert Nobbs isn't overly complicated in story. Or in ambition, for that matter. Certainly the premise itself can be somewhat controversial, but in modern world it's pretty much accepted that women should have the same opportunities as men. Naturally it wasn't always so, and this film rather nicely explores the lengths some women had to go to in order to earn a living.This central theme is the one thing the film has to give, the rest being mere window dressing. Not to say those things don't have merits of their own, but the film wouldn't stand out on them alone. For example, Nobbs eventually has a love interest, Helen (Mia Wasikoswska), who has a love interest of her own, Joe (Aaron Johnson). The problem with those two is that they're very stereotypical young people in love. It would have been more interesting if Helen, for example, was torn between Albert and Joe.Still, this film has a lot to offer. Could it have been better? Certainly, but it's far from bad as it is.

l_rawjalaurence ALBERT NOBBS has some highly promising elements to it. The story of a waiter (Glenn Close) born out of wedlock, who has been forced to carve out a career masquerading as a male, offers some trenchant comments on gender and sexualities in late Victorian societies, as well as pointing to the prejudices that we still harbor today.In the closeknit, socially stratified world of Morrison's Hotel, Dublin, presided over by the maitresse d'h (Pauline Collins), men fulfill the active roles while women are consigned into the shadows as chamber-maids, cooks and the like. If anyone such as the housemaid Helen (Maria Wasikowska) is unfortunate enough to get pregnant, they run the risk of being cast out into the street as "brazen hussies." The house-painter Hubert (Janet McTeer) reacts to this situation by living as a man with a spouse in tow; at no point is her masquerade discovered in public.Albert tries the same strategy, but has to trust in others' willingness not to tell her employer what has happened. The fact that this renders her life miserable is obvious: when s/he gets the chance to shed her male attire and don a dress for the first time, the experience is almost overwhelming for her, as she runs along the Dublin sands like a child before falling down over her skirts.Rodrigo Garcia's film makes some good points about the ways in which individuals are constrained by social convention, especially among the lower classes. Servants are routinely abused, and fired at will, while the maitresse d'h profits at their expense while putting on a public mask of Christian charity.On the other hand, the narrative runs out of steam somewhat, as the story descends into sentimentality, especially when Albert believes that he has become attracted to Helen and vies for her attentions with wastrel Joe (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). The contest, predictably, proves an unequal one; and Albert passes away as solitary in death as in life, alone in his poky room at Morrison's. There is a happy ending of sorts; but we feel that director Garcia has somehow missed the opportunity to continue his criticism of sexualities and attitudes towards them. No one, it seems, is any the wiser for having learned about Albert's suffering.

literaterose There are a number of thoughtful, excellent reviews of Albert Nobbs already, and I confess that I doubt I can add substantially to them. I did want to note that, unlike several other reviewers, I found the spareness of Albert Nobb's story, as embodied remarkably by Glenn Close, to be extremely compelling rather than empty or limited. It stands, literally and significantly, in vivid contrast to the towering (in every sense!) presence of Hubert Page, played so magnificently by Janet McTeer--and that's part of the point.And now having said the above, I did want to comment on one tiny element in an otherwise very well written and thoughtful review here, by chaz-28, in which that reviewer suggested that camera tricks and/or forced perspective must have been used to create the illusion of McTeer's Mr. Page looming over other characters... Ms. McTeer is 6'1" tall, quite tall enough on her own to do all the looming/towering necessary without any cinematic magic! (I have a pretty good sense of her height, having both a son-in-law and ex who are/were around the same height.) It's a little funny, considering the subject matter of the film itself, to realize how hard it is for folks--even those very impressed with the work--to imagine that a woman might be... well, big as a man!In conclusion... I wholeheartedly recommend this film. It's a stellar example of deep character exploration and development, embedded in a sturdy, engrossing story. More than worth the watch.

Jackson Booth-Millard It was only following the awards season that I found out about this film properly, because the leading female star was nominated Best Actress at the Academy Awards, and she had previously played the part of the title character on stage, so I was most interested to see it. Basically set in the 19th Century in Dublin, Ireland, eccentric middle-aged Albert Nobbs (Oscar and Golden Globe nominated Glenn Close) works at the Morrison's Hotel as a wait run by stingy and controlling Margaret 'Madge' Baker (Pauline Collins), and working he is hard working and hopes to own a business one day so saves his money. Apart from working with colleagues and serving the customers and owner's family he is all alone in the world, but then Mrs. Baker hires Hubert Page (Oscar and Golden Globe nominated Janet McTeer) to paint the hotel rooms, meaning that he will have to share a room with the new man, but he is not happy about this at all. The reason for this is because Albert hides the secret that he is actually a woman, and Hupert discovers this, and all he can do is beg him not to reveal it to anyone else, this agreed, but Albert worries in certain situations that others know the secret. He realises the issue is not a problem when Hupert reveals his own secret as well, he is a woman as well by exposing her big breasts under a pad, like Albert has, but also Hupert shows him that he can lead a different life if he so wanted to. Knowing that Hupert is married to wife Cathleen (Bronagh Gallagher) who supports everything he does, Albert sets his sights on young flirtatious co-worker Helen Dawes (Mia Wasikowska), unaware that she is already seeing sly fellow co-worker Joe Mackins (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) in a sexual relationship. Joe sees Albert's attempts to woo Helen as an opportunity to take advantage of his generous nature, so she agrees to his requests for walks and days out, and he buys her some things, but this seems only like friendship courtship. Outside of doing this Hupert and Albert spend some time together, embracing their true selves, including going out dressed in the gender guises they are, and the butler still sets his sights on putting a deposit on a shop to setup his tobacco and café business. In the end though Albert finds out about the deception by Helen and Joe, and it is after the big argument between them that he suffers a hard hitting head injury, and this eventually kills him, and in the end his money is stolen by Mrs. Bates, and Hupert helps out Helen who has been left by Joe and may be pregnant. Also starring Brendan Gleeson as Dr. Holloran, Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Viscount Yarrell, Brenda Fricker as Polly, Maria Doyle Kennedy as Mary and Mark Williams as Sean Casey. It is odd that you have to treat Close as a man when you know the character's secret, but on the other hand it works out fine, she gives a sympathetic and captivating performance, and in her scenes Janet McTeer is equally interesting to watch as the other working body hiding her true gender. The reason for the female character dressing as a man seems to be to make more money and perhaps have more independence, it may have been good to see her beginning the process or trying more hectically to hide it, but the story has the mix of lightness, labour and secrecy works well enough, a not bad period drama. It was nominated the Oscar for Best Makeup, and it was nominated the Golden Globe for Best Original Song for "Lay Your Head Down" (lyrics written by Close). Worth watching!