> REVIEW
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Albert Nobbs (2011)
Identity crisis…
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By Helen Adkins | April 2012
DIRECTOR: Rodrigo Garcia
WRITER(s): Glenn Close/John Banville/Gabriella Prekop/István Szabó(story)/George Moore(short story)
Originally written as a short story in 1918 by George Moore, director Rodrigo Garcia’s Albert Nobbs follows the story of a woman (Glenn Close) who masquerades as a man; working as a butler in a late 19th century Dublin Hotel, she harbours dreams of one day setting up a business on her own.
Isolated, uptight and excruciatingly self-controlled, Nobbs’ carefully constructed identity is blown when she’s forced to share a room with Hubert Page (Janet McTeer) who catches Albert semi-naked when she frantically, and with much ‘feminine fuss’, tears off her corset to release a flea.
This is the start of a number of contrived and unlikely events that go on to form the narrative. The next is that Hubert is also revealed as a woman in man’s clothing and the two become friends, with Hubert introducing Albert to his wife (Bronagh Gallagher), showing her the potential of another world.
Albert now decides she also wants a wife, ostensibly to complete her conventional facade once she’s set up as a tobacconist, but also, we’re now led to believe, because she is emotionally attracted to the wayward Helen (Mia Wasikowska). Undeterred that she’s already pregnant by the caddish Joe (Aaron Johnson), the naïve Albert sets her cap at Helen, spending her hard-earned money on gifts and trips out.
It’s at this point Garcia’s film loses its way, as Nobbs’ initial goal is diluted by multiple narrative branches, and the protagonist’s muddled desires and motivations obscure the more pressing question of whether Nobbs will find her true identity.
This question is never answered as Close plots both her escape from the hotel one minute, yet courts Helen and passionately defends her honour in another, all whilst seeking out answers to her life via Hubert and her set-up. The result is a miss-mash of events that feel largely unconnected and fail to enlighten the more thematic points.
There’s simply too much going on, and despite offering exposition in abundance through Nobbs’ irritating habit of talking to herself, the character remains undeveloped and simplistic.
At one point, Nobbs and Hubert take a walk in dresses on a beach. When Nobbs inexplicably breaks into a run, twirling around with arms outstretched, the gesture is simply too bizarre, too out of sync to represent any meaningful change in her character. It becomes merely a token, as the idea that Nobbs may at some point wish to return to her true gender is never developed.
Glenn Close reportedly spent fifteen years fighting to get this film made and is credited as producer, co-writer and is its main star. The clue to why Close was quite so committed to this subject area reeks of ‘Oscar performance’, in that the success of the film is almost solely reliant on the performance of the principal character. With the use of prosthetics, Close’s face is taut and stiff, man-like maybe, but also frozen and unyielding to nuance or emotion. Much like the film itself, it all feels too forced and unnatural to feel anything but self-conscious.
Script…………………………………………………………………………………………….
Clunky in both structure and execution. Janet McTeer, Brendan Gleeson, and
Pauline Collins deliver solid, albeit one note performances, but on the whole
Close’s passion project is a frustrating disappointment. 2
Direction………………………………………………………………………………………..
Garcia’s restrained visuals and muted colour palette offer a solid view of hotel
life in 19th century Dublin. 3
Verdict…………………………………………………………………………………………..
A strange and inconsistent piece of cinema, that neither delivers on its premise
nor satisfies on an emotional level. 2
