Albert Nobbs

This film is about a woman who pretends to be a man to survive back in the 19th century Ireland.

"Albert Nobbs" is a well made film. It portrays Albert Nobbs down to the last detail. His personality, his hopes and dreams, his sad past are all told exquisitely and engagingly. The character is well portrayed and enacted. He is intensely private to guard his deepest secret, and yet he is also an emotional person that longs for love and companionship. His tormented soul creates much resonance and sympathy from the viewers. Albert's sad past and present is heartbreaking, and the film makes viewers yearn for a better future for Albert. "Albert Nobbs" is a beautiful film about a person's sad and repressed life.

Janet McTeer is absolutely transcendent in ALBERT NOBBS.

The waves of emotion which she wraps into Hubert Page are a wonder to behold. Her performance is not one of those 'knock me over with a feather' performances; it's more like a performance that settles in the bottom of your heart and stays there well after the movie ends. It keeps you up at night, and tugs at you for days afterward.

The story itself is more layered than it appears to be. Glenn Close has brought to the screen a very private yet very emotional character. Such a character is difficult to portray -- and the 'talking to one's self scenes' were a bit annoying, as all such scenes are.

In the end, however, this is a movie well worth your time.

The three movies that I've seen that Rodrigo García (son of Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez) directed deal with women's relationships: "Things You Can Tell Just By Looking at Her", "Mother and Child" and now "Albert Nobbs". In the latter, Glenn Close plays a woman posing as a man in 19th century Dublin and working as a butler in a posh hotel. When the hotel owner hires a painter named Hubert Page (Janet McTeer), Albert soon finds out Hubert's secret. From there, relationships with other staff members proliferate.

The movie brings up several issues. Aside from Ireland's status as a British colony in the 19th century, there's the social hierarchy in the hotel, and the forbidden relationships. Albert's posing as a man is partially because of some haunting experiences, but also because women didn't have as many opportunities open to them back then. As a result of his hiding in this male persona, Albert has been hiding from himself, one might say.

All in all, I thought that this is a very well done movie. Close looks eerily gaunt in the role, easily passing as a man, while Mia Wasikowska, playing a maid, has the perfection balance of strength and fragility. I recommend the movie. Also starring Aaron Johnson (John Lennon in "Nowhere Boy"), Pauline Collins, Brendan Gleeson, Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Maria Doyle Kennedy.

Wow! The producers really took a risk making this film. I can see how many people would object to its treatment of the subject matter (or the subject matter itself). The acting was first-rate and there were surprises throughout the movie. Each time I thought I could predict where it was going, the movie took a sharp turn in an unexpected direction.

The cinematography was beautiful as were the costumes and sets. Can't really say anything bad about this production.

What can you say about Glenn Close? She continues to stretch herself in unanticipated ways. Janet McTeer's performance is brilliant and nuanced; I could not take my eyes off her.

I'm still thinking about the film today. Powerful filmmaking.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times(apologies to Dickens) in this Irish drama of the affluent and the working class at the turn of he century. Glenn Close is a towering figure throughout as Albert Nobbs, a butler at an upscale hotel in Dublin. Close and Mia Wasikowska are both magnificent in this saga of gender identity. Nobbs is dressed as a man in order to work and survive in a world better suited to being a male and she is searching for who and what she should be. Her dream of opening a shop with a woman she has fallen in love with, well played by Wasikowska is deeply affecting.

Janet McTeer and Brendan Gleeson round out a perfect ensemble cast as they are two of the best actors working today. Gleeson brings some comic relief as the resident doctor and McTeer gives a sympathetic ear and emotional support to Close.

Sinead O'Connor sings the final song as the credits roll. The story is a sad one but due to the great cast it is a movie worth watching.