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Albert Nobbs

  • 2011
  • Tous publics
  • 1h 53m
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
26K
YOUR RATING
Glenn Close, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Mia Wasikowska in Albert Nobbs (2011)
Albert Nobbs struggles to survive in late 19th century Ireland, where women aren't encouraged to be independent. Posing as a man so she can work as a butler in Dublin's most posh hotel, "Albert" meets a handsome painter and looks to escape the lie she has been living.
Play trailer2:31
7 Videos
71 Photos
Period DramaTragic RomanceDramaRomance

Albert Nobbs struggles to survive in late 19th-century Ireland, where women aren't encouraged to be independent. Posing as a man so she can work as a butler in Dublin's most elegant hotel, A... Read allAlbert Nobbs struggles to survive in late 19th-century Ireland, where women aren't encouraged to be independent. Posing as a man so she can work as a butler in Dublin's most elegant hotel, Albert meets a handsome painter and looks to escape the lie she has been living.Albert Nobbs struggles to survive in late 19th-century Ireland, where women aren't encouraged to be independent. Posing as a man so she can work as a butler in Dublin's most elegant hotel, Albert meets a handsome painter and looks to escape the lie she has been living.

  • Director
    • Rodrigo García
  • Writers
    • Gabriella Prekop
    • John Banville
    • Glenn Close
  • Stars
    • Glenn Close
    • Mia Wasikowska
    • Aaron Taylor-Johnson
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.7/10
    26K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Rodrigo García
    • Writers
      • Gabriella Prekop
      • John Banville
      • Glenn Close
    • Stars
      • Glenn Close
      • Mia Wasikowska
      • Aaron Taylor-Johnson
    • 119User reviews
    • 217Critic reviews
    • 57Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 3 Oscars
      • 19 wins & 43 nominations total

    Videos7

    U.S. Version
    Trailer 2:31
    U.S. Version
    Albert Nobbs
    Trailer 1:29
    Albert Nobbs
    Albert Nobbs
    Trailer 1:29
    Albert Nobbs
    "Dining"
    Clip 1:45
    "Dining"
    "Business"
    Clip 1:07
    "Business"
    Albert Nobbs: Business
    Clip 1:08
    Albert Nobbs: Business
    Albert Nobbs: Dining
    Clip 1:45
    Albert Nobbs: Dining

    Photos71

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    Top cast44

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    Glenn Close
    Glenn Close
    • Albert Nobbs
    Mia Wasikowska
    Mia Wasikowska
    • Helen
    Aaron Taylor-Johnson
    Aaron Taylor-Johnson
    • Joe
    • (as Aaron Johnson)
    Antonia Campbell-Hughes
    Antonia Campbell-Hughes
    • Emmy
    • (as Antonia Campbell Hughes)
    Pauline Collins
    Pauline Collins
    • Mrs. Baker
    Maria Doyle Kennedy
    Maria Doyle Kennedy
    • Mary
    Mark Williams
    Mark Williams
    • Sean Casey
    James Greene
    James Greene
    • Patrick
    Serena Brabazon
    Serena Brabazon
    • Mrs. Moore
    Michael McElhatton
    Michael McElhatton
    • Mr. Moore
    Dolores Mullally
    • Milady
    Bonnie McCormack
    • Miss Shaw
    Phyllida Law
    Phyllida Law
    • Mrs. Cavendish
    Brendan Gleeson
    Brendan Gleeson
    • Dr. Holloran
    Kenneth Collard
    Kenneth Collard
    • Monsieur Pigot
    Judy Donovan
    Judy Donovan
    • Madame Pigot
    Jonathan Rhys Meyers
    Jonathan Rhys Meyers
    • Viscount Yarrell
    Phoebe Waller-Bridge
    Phoebe Waller-Bridge
    • Viscountess Yarrell
    • Director
      • Rodrigo García
    • Writers
      • Gabriella Prekop
      • John Banville
      • Glenn Close
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews119

    6.726.1K
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    Featured reviews

    7Rockwell_Cronenberg

    Give Close the Oscar!

    At first glance, Albert Nobbs could seem to be another dry and stuffy period piece that would follow in the tradition and be mostly about the acting. However once you delve into it, the film ends up being a surprisingly dense character drama focused around one troubled, courageous woman whose loneliness gets the better of her years of living in secrecy. The titular waiter is a delicate, frail woman masquerading as a man and actress Glenn Close delves into the role with such complete detail that she truly does disappear.

    I'm always skeptical of performances that are claimed to be "fully unrecognizable" and at first I must admit that it just felt like Close playing a man, but as the film continued I slowly lost sight of my cynicism and when a later scene portrays Nobbs wearing a dress for the first time I was blown away at the fact that I was seeing this woman be a real woman for the first time. I was amazed at how absorbed Close was in the role, I genuinely forgot all about this woman playing a character and just believed the character's facade, as well as Close's. Close has gotten attention for the role as a potential Oscar vehicle and some have lashed back against that due to the performance being quite restrained, but I admire her delicacy in taking on the role. This is a woman who spent her entire life trying to blend in and be unseen, and Close's ability to be this fly on the wall creature is remarkable.

    I was glad that there weren't any hysterics on her part and when the few scenes came where, in isolation, she broke down I was devastated by this woman fearing for her life to unravel. It's such a delicate and entirely human performance, and as far as I'm concerned one of the best of Close's very strong career. The central narrative revolves around Nobbs' desire to woo a young maid named Helen (played with an Irish tilt by the up-and-coming Australian Mia Wasikowska, again shining) to leave their life of servitude and open up a tobacco shop together. Throughout the film I was bothered by this belief that Nobbs was supposed to be in love with Helen and that's why she wanted to open the shop with her, but as the film reached it's final conclusion I came to the realization that it had nothing to do with love.

    Throughout her life Nobbs had put in all of her effort to having no one notice her that when she's introduced to a similar woman masquerading as a man (played by the strong and unbelievably convincing Janet McTeer) who has a happy life married to a woman, Nobbs realizes the potential that maybe she doesn't have to live her life alone. It's not about loving Helen at all, it's just about not wanting to be alone anymore and once that became apparent to me the film became quite devastating. Nobbs trapped herself in this prison and Close plays it with such restrained heartache that it truly hit a level with me. Even in writing this I am realizing that the film had a much stronger impact on me than I had previously thought. This is a devastating story of a woman trapped in circumstances of her own making, portrayed with such genuine believability by Close that I forgot I was watching an actress pretend to be a man but instead just saw Nobbs.

    There's a line where McTeer's character asks Nobbs what her name is and she responds, "Albert". Then McTeer repeats the question, clearly asking for her birthname instead of the one she is hiding behind and Nobbs again responds, "Albert". At the time I rolled my eyes at the exchange, but now that the whole film has settled with me it speaks so much to this trapped, wounded soul who was so lost in herself that she couldn't escape her own prison, let alone the one that she had built for Nobbs. I found Albert Nobbs to be quite the moving, hushed character piece led by a wrenching performance by Close and backed up by several other strong performances from McTeer, Wasikowska and a grimy Aaron Johnson.
    10jqapac

    Beautiful film

    I saw this film at the Mill Valley Film Festival Opening last night and I thought it was an amazing piece. Luckily I didn't have an preconceived notions about the film. I hadn't heard anything about it which for me is always the best way to go into a film. I always set high standards for any film that Glen Close is a part of and she definitely met that expectation and then some.

    Visually, Albert Nobbs had a fairy tale feel to it. I would say it was an atypical film without political agenda. A simple but highly intelligent story full of life and character detail. I would like to see this again. I have a feeling that in a second screening I would see so many new things that are so subtle in the first viewing.

    Glen Close transformed completely. It was dazzling to watch. I was captivated by her face and her mannerisms. I would highly recommend this film to friends. A must see!
    JohnDeSando

    S/he won't go away.

    "You don't have to be anything but what you are." Hupert Page (Janet McTeer)

    Albert Nobbs is a curious story, perhaps not like anything else you've seen. If you wait until the end, you may love hearing Sinead O'Connor sing "Lay Down Your Head." But in between beginning and end is a performance by Glenn Close as a gender-bending butler in 1890's Dublin to confound critics who use Meryl Streep as their litmus test.

    Where Streep infuses her characters with at least a few eccentric affectations, Close's Albert is a fascinating cipher of a woman playing a man so tied up like her corset that she rarely changes expression; her immobile face resembles a plastic-surgery job wound like her too tight, afraid to laugh or cry for fear of pulling her skin down from its moorings behind the ear. The stoicism is, however, not without its oddball charm, as you are unlikely to meet such an introvert, who is rivaled only by Melville's classic Bartleby.

    Albert decides to woo young Helen (Mia Wasikowska) to marry him and settle into a tobacco shop, even though he has not told her he is a woman. Albert is helped by another disguised female, Hubert, played Oscar-worthy by Janet McTeer. Although Close, a producer and co-writer, doesn't reveal much about Albert's background and the reason for remaining in disguise other than the difficulty of single women surviving in late nineteenth-century Dublin, McTeer's Hubert satisfies us with background information and a current marriage inspiring Albert to pursue Helen.

    The short story and the 1982 play, for which Close as Albert won an Obie, might be warmer and more accessible. Although the film has much of John Huston's The Dead in its set design, Huston's and James Joyce's character development and disclosure are leagues ahead of this minimalist script and sets.

    As annoying as Albert is in his privacy, Close's Chaplinesque costuming and minimalist performance won't go away. Watch out, Meryl.
    8Rumplestilts

    Compelling film - Glenn Close and Janet McTeer are marvelous

    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.
    7lee_eisenberg

    women's relationships

    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.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Glenn Close not only stars as the lead character Albert, but she also co-wrote the screenplay, wrote the original song for the film and produced.
    • Goofs
      When Glenn Close is running on the beach, she falls down in a spot where it is obvious that the sand was disturbed in a previous shot or rehearsal.
    • Quotes

      Albert Nobbs: A life without decency is unbearable.

    • Connections
      Featured in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #20.67 (2012)
    • Soundtracks
      Lay Your Head Down
      Music by Brian Byrne

      Lyrics by Glenn Close

      Performed by Sinéad O'Connor

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    FAQ22

    • How long is Albert Nobbs?Powered by Alexa
    • Is this film based on a book?
    • Why did Glenn Close choose this role?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 22, 2012 (France)
    • Countries of origin
      • United States
      • Ireland
      • United Kingdom
      • France
    • Official site
      • Official site
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • The Singular Life of Albert Nobbs
    • Filming locations
      • Iveagh Gardens, Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland
    • Production companies
      • Mockingbird Pictures
      • Trillium Productions
      • Parallel Film Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $8,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $3,014,696
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $696,088
      • Jan 29, 2012
    • Gross worldwide
      • $7,532,259
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 53 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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    Glenn Close, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Mia Wasikowska in Albert Nobbs (2011)
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