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Albert Nobbs (2011)

Director: Rodrigo Garcia

Time Out rating

Average user rating

4 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

Ah, cross-dressing. The glitz, the glamour, the saucy hilarity. Well, according to ‘Albert Nobbs’, such larks are a fairly recent invention. In nineteenth-century Ireland, frolics were noticeably hard to come by, and fun was only for the wealthy. And for a woman of meagre means, dressing up like a man might be the only way to earn a crust.

It’s taken three decades for actress and co-writer Glenn Close to bring this pet project to cinemas – she first played the title character in the theatre in 1982, and it’s been a rocky road from stage to screen. It’s not hard to see why: this resolutely downbeat story, which follows gender-bending butler Albert in her faltering attempts to navigate the world of Dublin polite society without being discovered, is hardly a crowd pleaser.

Close and her co-author novelist John Banville attempt to satisfy the ‘Downton’ crowd with a spot of upstairs-downstairs shenanigans and some doomed teen romance between boozy hired hand Aaron Johnson and starry-eyed maid Mia Wasikowska. But the focus is firmly on Albert and her suffering – and although temporary reprieve arrives in the form of fellow draggist Hubert (British actress Janet McTeer), such happiness is inevitably fleeting.

Close and McTeer richly deserved their Oscar acting nods, and the film is steeped in facinating period detail – but there’s precious little to enjoy. The grim, grey-hued result is about as far from contemporary drag chic as it’s possible to get – appropriate for the subject matter, perhaps, but hardly the stuff of satisfying cinema.

Author: Tom Huddleston

Time Out London Issue 2175 Apr 26-May 2 2012

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User reviews of this film

ARCHGATE said...

Posted on May 11 2012 21:28 Agree almost entirely with Mike T. The problem, for me, with this film is the lack of scenes in which Albert could show that she is actually a woman, instead we get a cypher for a male. However, there are moments when you truly care for "Albert" but there are far too few of them. Well worth a trip to see actors actually acting.

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MikeT said...

Posted on May 09 2012 09:02 Unusually, as I’d heard nothing of Albert Nobbs elsewhere, I read Tom Huddleston’s Time Out review. Personally, I think it’s a little off-putting.
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I’d agree that Albert Nobbs isn’t an uplifting film but, put in context, neither are Glenn Close’s other well-known Oscar nominated roles: Marquise de Merteuil in Dangerous Liaisons; and Alex Forrest in Fatal Attraction. Clearly, Glenn Close is very good at dark roles.
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I thought Albert Nobbs was a tale very well told. I was so caught up in the story several times I found myself gripping the jumper on my lap: there’s a great innocence in Albert’s character, which Close plays very well – and it’s clear Albert’s likely to get taken advantage of. It’s a well cast movie – in fact, extremely well cast, and flawlessly acted. The attention to detail is excellent: – set, costume, street scenes, etc.
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Conclusion: Glenn Close deserved her Oscar nomination for this, though I still think it was right Meryl Streep won the Oscar for her role in the Iron Lady. Albert Nobbs is well worth seeing. Three stars. (Scrumpjack, I don’t think you’ll like this. Archgate, you might like this.)
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(I'm posting under the name of MikeT, as another "mike" recently started posting.)

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Rita said...

Posted on May 07 2012 23:23 I really enjoyed this film, which was peopled with thought-provoking characters I cared about, and a weird premise that was also convincing.

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nick said...

Posted on Apr 28 2012 23:30 perhaps its time Time Out got a new reviewer. First I see The Cabin in the woods which he gave 5 stars and which most of your readers seem to agree that it is a crass 14 year old pleaser at best worthy of two stars. Now he lays into this fascinating and touching piece, superbly acted and gorgeously shot. Entirely satisfying cinema and yes, thank god as far from contemporary drag chic as possible. See it and take no notice of the inept review above.

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