Albert Nobbs (2011)

Glenn Close gives an Oscar-worthy performance to add to her already impressive resume, playing one of her most challenging screen roles yet.

Albert Nobbs (Glenn Close) works as a waiter at one of the poshest hotels in Ireland during the late 19th century. He is very good at his job and all the guests are certainly impressed by his dedication to ensure that everyone is comfortable at all times. Little does anyone know that he is in fact a woman who uses the disguise as a way to save up money and start her own business and lead a steady life. One day, a man called Hubert Page (Janet McTeer) comes in to paint the walls of the hotel. He is to stay in Albert’s room, making Albert uneasy about keeping her well-kept secret. Nonetheless, Hubert does discover that Albert is in fact a woman but then reveals himself to be a woman just as well. Albert is flustered at her discovery and starts to inquire Hubert as to how she lives her daily life. She asks her many times how she does it, astonished at the fact that there is someone in the world who has a situation so similar to hers. However, Hubert has a wife and Albert is starting to realize that maybe it’s time for her to start a family of her own.

Helen Dawes (Mia Wasikowska) is a maid working at the same hotel as Albert. She falls madly in love with Joe Macken (Aaron Johnson), a poor young man who managed to fix the hotel’s heating. Joe dreams of leaving for America and wants to take Helen with him. He makes Helen go out on dates with Albert, who has quite a fancy for Helen, in order to get gifts that they could sell in order to buy tickets for their sea voyage. But as time goes on, we realize that Joe is just using Helen to his own advantage and to make their relationship worse, he gets her pregnant. This nullifies her chances of going with him to America and Albert offers his assistance in taking care of her and her baby, with a possible chance of marriage. The film shifts focus from Albert’s story to Helen’s, and we get the feeling that Albert is trapped by her existence and as a result of her earlier struggles in life, may never be able to start a life of her own.

The film as a period piece was executed very well indeed, with the sets and costumes being top-notch and very believable. The make-up for Glenn Close was simply marvelous and although at first I knew she was really a woman and wondered why no one could see that, the further I got in the story the lines between reality and the character portrayal faded and I just kept my eyes on the amazing acting and overall story. There are so many times that a movie can just blow you away by a certain aspect such as costumes or special effects that you really lose your focus from the most important thing, which is of course the story at hand.

So many things are touched upon that are very unconventional especially for a period piece, and it was incredibly daring of Glenn Close, who co-wrote the screenplay and played the same character in the stage version of Albert Nobbs in 1982, to take on and eventually produce a film of a story that reveals things that people are still trying to work out and accept even today. Albert’s and Hubert’s sexuality is one of the key themes that the story revolves around and it gives hints that Hubert is a lesbian who uses her disguise not only to lead an acceptable way of life, but also have the same privileges that men had as opposed to women in those days. With Albert, it’s much more complicated because of her past and childhood. It’s saddening that she has lived her life as a man for so long and was always concealing herself from people just to keep her secret. She never knew the meaning of love and it shows by how she acts in certain scenes towards Hubert and Helen. Never having the chance to find her sexuality, she isn’t really mindful about the difference if the person she loves (in this case, Helen) is a man or a woman. She only knows that she cares for Helen and wants to protect her, but is still very aware and conscientious about the idea of getting married to her in such circumstances.

It is certainly a very emotional movie because of the many conflicting thoughts and fears that Albert has, and it’s definitely heart-breaking to see these women being turned into men just to have an opportunity to either work or live life according to society’s standards. The piece certainly transcends its era, making bold statements that some will be able to relate to. My favorite scene in the film and I’m sure for everyone, will be when Albert and Hubert put on dresses and Albert starts running along the seaside. Her sense of liberty is so immense in those couple of moments it gives you a warm feeling inside, even if it was only for a moment.

I suggest you bring some tissues for this one just in case and I hope you will make the best of what this movie has to offer because “we are all disguised as ourselves”.