Albert Nobbs (2011)

Director:

Rodrigo García

Writers:

Glenn Close (screenplay) and
John Banville (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

26 December 2011 (Australia)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

A man with a secret. A woman with a dream.

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Hotel | 19th Century | Ireland | Painter | Butler

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 11 wins & 20 nominations

Cast

Glenn Close	...	Albert Nobbs
Antonia Campbell-Hughes	...	Emmy
Mia Wasikowska	...	Helen
Pauline Collins	...	Margaret 'Madge' Baker
Maria Doyle Kennedy	...	Mary
Mark Williams	...	Sean Casey
James Greene	...	Patrick
Serena Brabazon	...	Mrs. Moore
Michael McElhatton	...	Mr. Moore
Dolores Mullally	...	Milady
Bonnie McCormack	...	Miss Shaw
Phyllida Law	...	Mrs. Cavendish
Brendan Gleeson	...	Dr. Holloran
Kenneth Collard	...	Monsieur Pigot
Judy Donovan	...	Madame Pigot
Jonathan Rhys Meyers	...	Viscount Yarrell
Phoebe Waller-Bridge	...	Viscountess Yarrell
Emerald Fennell	...	Mrs. Smythe-Willard
John Light	...	Mr. Smythe-Willard
Daniel Costello	...	Mr. Sweeney
Angeline Ball	...	Mrs. Gilligan
Philip O'Sullivan	...	Mr. Gilligan
Aaron Taylor-Johnson	...	Joe (as Aaron Johnson)
Brenda Fricker	...	Polly
Katie Long	...	Young Kitchen Maid
Katie O'Brien	...	Older Kitchen Maid
Mark Doherty	...	Porter
Rhys Burke	...	George Moore
Lauren Kinsella	...	Milly Moore
Janet McTeer	...	Hubert Page
Katie Ann McDonough	...	Laundry Maid
Kathleen Warner Yeates	...	Laundry Maid
Cate MacGabhan	...	Laundry Maid
Bronagh Gallagher	...	Cathleen
Antoinette Healy	...	Woman on Landau
Annie Starke	...	Chocolate Shop Waitress
Cathy White	...	Nanny
Malcolm Blacow	...	Health Official
Lily Melcher	...	Country Girl
Lucie Melcher	...	Country Girl
Raul Riva	...	Albert Joseph - Helen's baby
Juno	...	Polly's Dog
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Anna Elizabeth McGrath	...	Laundry Maid
Una C.	...	Snooty Dinner Guest (uncredited)

Directed by
Rodrigo García

Writing credits
Glenn Close		(screenplay)
John Banville		screenplay
George Moore		short story
Gabriella Prekop		screenplay
István Szabó		story

Produced by
Marcia Allen	....	co-executive producer
John Amend	....	co-executive producer
Teresa Amend	....	co-executive producer
Pierre-Francois Bernet	....	co-producer: Chrysalis Films (as Pierre-Fran¸ois Bernet)
Glenn Close	....	producer
Ruth Coady	....	associate producer: Patallel Films
Bonnie Curtis	....	producer
John Eger	....	co-executive producer
Cami Goff	....	executive producer
John Goff	....	executive producer (as John C. Goff)
Sharon Harel	....	executive producer (as Sharon Harel Cohen)
Julie Lynn	....	producer
Caroline McManus	....	post-production producer
Alan Moloney	....	producer
Susan Mullen	....	associate producer: Parallel Films
Patrick O'Donoghue	....	line producer
Daryl Roth	....	executive producer
David E. Shaw	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Brian Byrne

Cinematography by
Michael McDonough		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Steven Weisberg

Casting by
Amy Hubbard
Priscilla John

Production Design by
Patrizia von Brandenstein

Art Direction by
Susie Cullen		(supervising art director)

Set Decoration by
Jenny Oman

Costume Design by
Pierre-Yves Gayraud

Makeup Department
Eileen Buggy	....	additional hair stylist
Martial Corneville	....	hair stylist: Ms. Close and Ms. McTeer
Martial Corneville	....	wig maker: Ms. Close and Mc. Mcteer
Eilis Coughlan	....	hair trainee
Lorraine Glynn	....	makeup artist (as Lorraine Glynn Whelan)
Aurelio Guzman	....	makeup lab
Jamie Hess	....	makeup lab
Lynn Johnson	....	key makeup artist (as Lynn Johnston)
Lynn Johnson	....	prosthetic application (as Lynn Johnston)
Alexis LaCentra	....	makeup lab
Clare Lambe	....	makeup artist
Matthew W. Mungle	....	special makeup designer
Aisling Nairn	....	additional assistant makeup artist
Sevlene Roddy	....	hair stylist
Ciara Scannell	....	trainee makeup artist
Chloe Bourke	....	daily makeup trainee (uncredited)

Production Management
Dee Collier	....	post-production supervisor
Judith Fleeton	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Edna Doherty	....	second assistant director
Ger Duffy	....	trainee assistant director
Denis Fitzpatrick	....	trainee assistant director
John McKeown	....	first assistant director
Grace Morgan	....	trainee assistant director
Sonja Otto	....	trainee assistant director
Ceri Quinn	....	trainee assistant director
Felipa Robertson	....	trainee assistant director
Nick Thomas	....	second second assistant director

Art Department
Tony Boston	....	standby props
Simon Boyd	....	standby props
Dermot Butler	....	supervising carpenter
Stephen Byrne	....	props trainee
Darach Culhane	....	assistant buyer
Fiona Daly	....	standby art director
Simone Delaney	....	buyer
Shane Donnelly	....	standby stagehand
Ciaran Drew	....	carpenter
Mark Forbes	....	painter
Jono Fortune	....	props trainee
Mick Fortune	....	greensman
Martin Goulding	....	draftsman
Martin Hayes	....	construction manager
Tony Kelly	....	stagehand
Arne Klohn	....	props trainee
Rene Knol	....	dressing props
John Lamon	....	carpenter
David Lee	....	standby carpenter
Eoin Lewis	....	dressing props
Liam Maguire	....	props runaround
Louise Mathews	....	art director trainee
Jerome McDonnell	....	standby props (as Jerome MacDonnell)
Adrienne McGrane	....	graphic designer
Ciara McKenna	....	store person
Noel McKenna	....	standby rigger
Nuala McKernan	....	property master
Brian Molloy	....	carpenter
Linda Murphy	....	art department coordinator
Gary O'Donnell	....	standby scenic
Danny O'Reilly	....	standby rigger
Christy O'Shaughnessy	....	supervising painter (as Christopher O'Shaughnessy)
John Purdy	....	standby stagehand
John Quilty	....	props trainee
Ger Richardson	....	painter
Erica Jane Ryan	....	food specialist
Brian Thompson	....	construction runaround
Melanie Whelan	....	art department trainee
Lyndon Johnston	....	dressing props (uncredited)
Eleonora McNamara	....	prop maker (uncredited)

Sound Department
Niall Brady	....	sound effects editor
Niall Brady	....	supervising sound editor
Enda Callan	....	additional boom operator
Michelle Cunniffe	....	sound re-recording mixer
Caoimhe Doyle	....	foley artist
Steve Fanagan	....	sound effects editor
Steve Fanagan	....	sound re-recording mixer
Garret Farrell	....	adr mixer: Dublin, Screen Scene
Michelle Fingleton	....	adr editor
Peter Gleaves	....	adr mixer: London, Golccrest
Michelle McCormack	....	dialogue editor
Eoghan McDonnell	....	foley artist
Jean McGrath	....	foley recordist
Conor O'Toole	....	boom operator
Liesl Pieterse	....	adr mixer: Sydney, Soundfirm
Jon Stevenson	....	foley editor
Pete Walker	....	sound trainee (as Pete Anthony Walker)
Brendan Deasy	....	sound mixer (uncredited)
Ugo Derouard	....	voice over recording engineer (uncredited)
Mark DeSimone	....	sound (uncredited)
Andrew Felton	....	boom operator (uncredited)
Mike Franklin	....	voice over recording engineer (uncredited)
Robert Karlsson	....	dolby sound consultant (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Kevin Byrne	....	special effects coordinator
Gerry Farrell	....	senior special effects technician
Kevin Nolan	....	senior special effects technician

Visual Effects by
Jaume Arteman	....	digital compositor: Screen Scene
Fiorenza Bagnariol	....	digital film bureau: Deluxe 142 Features
Ed Bruce	....	visual effects supervisor: Screen Scene
Roberto D'Ippolito	....	digital compositor: Screen Scene
Attila Gall	....	digital compositor: Screen Scene
Dan Helme	....	data wrangler: Deluxe 142 Features
Aled Rhys Jones	....	digital compositor: Screen Scene
Timothy P. Jones	....	digital film bureau: Deluxe 142 Features
Michael McCarthy	....	matchmover: Screen Scene
Sarah Mooney	....	visual effects producer: Screen Scene
Nicholas Murphy	....	visual effects production assistant: Screen Scene
Liam Neville	....	digital compositor: Screen Scene
John O'Connell	....	3d technical director: Screen Scene
John Palmer	....	digital film bureau manager: Deluxe 142 Features
Gordon Pratt	....	digital film bureau: Deluxe 142 Features

Stunts
Joe Condren	....	stunt coordinator
Robert O'Brien	....	stunt performer (as Robbie O'Brien)

Camera and Electrical Department
Fionn Comerford	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Conor Crowley	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera
Shane Deasy	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera
Damien Heffernan	....	practical electrician
Jon Leahy	....	provider: camera and lenses, Production Depot
Sean Leonard	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera
Louise MacEllin	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera (as Louise McEllin)
Simon Magee	....	electrician
Greg McGuinness	....	camera trainee
James McGuire	....	gaffer
Richie O'Connor	....	grip trainee
Eoin O'Keefe	....	camera trainee
Micheal O'Mogáin	....	best boy
Michael O'Toole	....	provider: lighting equipment, Cine Electric
Patrick Redmond	....	still photographer
Peter Robertson	....	steadicam operator
Martin Stephens	....	camera operator: "a" camera
Jean-Martin Ó'Flatharta	....	electrician
Pádric Ó'Fátharta	....	generator operator
John Connon	....	grip (uncredited)
Niall Mannion	....	electrician (uncredited)

Casting Department
Simon Cox	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Elisa Cameirano	....	wardrobe: crowd
Laura Fortune	....	costume cutter
Graham Hunter	....	assistant costume designer
Ben Maguire	....	wardrobe: crowd
Tamsin McKiernan	....	wardrobe trainee
Barbara Milne	....	dresser
Lucia Nardone	....	key costume assistant
Jessica O'Leary	....	costume supervisor
Tatjana Zemcugova	....	breakdown artist

Editorial Department
Julie Carr	....	assistant editor
John Como	....	trainee editor
Cheryl Goodbody	....	digital intermediate producer: Deluxe 142 Features
Lucy Gouldthorpe	....	post-production coordinator
Dave Hughes	....	digital intermediate colorist
Jenny Keane	....	title placement
Stephen Kidney	....	assistant editor
Matt Maddox	....	additional editor
Patrick Malone	....	digital intermediate head of department: Deluxe 142 Features
Sean McGrath	....	post-production coordinator
Tim Morris	....	digital intermediate supervisor
Jeremiah O'Driscoll	....	additional editor
Allyn Quigley	....	red rushes assistant

Music Department
Umberto Belfore	....	music recordist: piano
Brian Byrne	....	musician: piano and harpsicord
Ciaran Byrne	....	score mixer
Ciaran Byrne	....	score recordist
John Byrne	....	music preparation
John Byrne	....	score supervisor
Damian Chennell	....	assistant score recording engineer
Mia Cooper	....	orchestra leader
Fraser Fifield	....	musician: whistle
Martin Johnson	....	musician: cello
Anthony Long	....	orchestra general manager
John O'Brien	....	musician: whistle
Geraldine O'Doherty	....	musician: harpist
R.T.E. Concert Orchestra	....	musicians (as The RTÉ Concert Orchestra)
Ken Rice	....	musician: solo violin
Bill Shanley	....	musician: guitar and mandolin

Transportation Department
Frank Burke	....	driver
Willie Cooley	....	driver: standby electrical truck
James Cullen	....	transportation coordinator
Paul Cullen	....	transportation captain
Wayne Cullen	....	driver: standby camera truck
Alan Dixon	....	driver
John Fearon	....	driver: facilities
Stephen Fearon	....	facilities manager
Patrick Fisher	....	driver: facilities
Johnny Fortune	....	driver: facilities
Gordon Geraghty	....	driver
Peter Hill	....	driver: standby construction truck
Tony Lupton	....	driver: facilities
Gavin McGlashan	....	driver: facilities
John McMenamin	....	driver: standby props truck
Graham McWilliams	....	driver: minibus
Peter O'Toole	....	driver: minibus
Colman Sharkey	....	driver
Peter Thornton	....	driver

Other crew
Maya Amsellem	....	international sales: WestEnd Films
Lorcan Berney	....	assistant location manager
Grant Bobbett	....	assistant location manager
Fiona Bonnie	....	chaperone
Emerson Burns	....	legal services: U.S.
Mark Byrne	....	head of legal services: Bórd Scannán na hÉireann/Irish Film Board
Ruth Carter	....	development executive: Parallel Films
Eamon Casey	....	advisor: silver service
Aoife Cassidy	....	production coordinator
Caroline Cassidy	....	catering supervisor
Peter Conway	....	location manager
Tadhg Conway	....	epk
Jamie Deasy	....	epk: additional footage
Jamie Deasy	....	production trainee
Niall Delaney	....	supervising accountant: Parallel Films
Avril Donohue	....	cashier
Bill Dowling	....	epk
Tony Doyle	....	courier services: Aerfast International
Eddie Drew	....	animal wrangler
Gavin Duffy	....	extras coordinator intern
Ger Duffy	....	stand-in
John Duffy	....	office security: MCM Security
Nancy Evans Cox	....	assistant: Ms. Close (as Nancy Evans)
James Andrew Felts	....	assistant: Ms. Curtis
Fiona Fitzsimons	....	historical advisor
Dermot Furey	....	chef
Donal Geraghty	....	production accountant
Ben Good	....	horse and carriage master
Karen Graci	....	assistant: Mr. Garcia
Brendan Gunn	....	dialect coach
Tamara Harel-Cohen	....	assistant: Ms. Lynn
Orla Heffernan	....	production assistant
Ruth Hodgson	....	post production executive: Film Finances
Johanna Hogan	....	legal services: Matheson Ormsby Prentice
Susan Holmes	....	production executive: Parallel Films
Elsa Huisman	....	legal services: France
Ruth Hunter	....	legal services: Matheson Ormsby Prentice
Jérôme Jouneaux	....	press attache: France
Kevin Kearns	....	health and safety officer
Jonathan Kelly	....	legal services: Bórd Scannán na hÉireann/Irish Film Board, Philip Lee Solicitors
Vicki Kisner	....	assistant: Mr. Moloney
David Korda	....	production executive: Film Finances
Dina Kuperstock	....	sales representative: North American Sales, CAA
Joan Lambe	....	first assistant accountant
Zeke Lawless	....	production assistant: Parallel Films
Kate Lee	....	unit publicist: Freud Communications
Ciara Lyons	....	extras coordinator
Mike Mackie	....	intern: Mockingbird
Will Mackie	....	intern: Mockingbird
Jane McCabe	....	assistant production coordinator
Deirdre McMahon	....	legal services: Matheson Ormsby Prentice
Jane McNally	....	production executive: Parallel Films
Belinda Murphy	....	choreographer
Andrew Noonan	....	location security: Strand Security
Philip O'Carroll	....	location trainee
Ann O'Neill	....	horse and carriage coordinator
John O'Sullivan	....	insurance broker: Media Insurance
Linda Pather	....	production monitoring supervisor: Film Finances
Bairbre Quinn	....	payroll accountant
Cathal Quinn	....	dialect coach
Ceri Quinn	....	stand-in
Jana Rich	....	social media consultant
Cristan Sabau	....	general operative
Eve Schoukroun	....	international sales: WestEnd Films
Emma Scott	....	production executive: Bórd Scannán na hÉireann/Irish Film Board
James Selman	....	unit publicist: Freud Communications
Sarah Stapleton	....	catering assistant
Daniel Steinman	....	sales representative: North American Sales, CAA (as Dan Steinman)
Kieron Walshe	....	extras coordinator assistant
Andrew Waters	....	paramedic
Kathleen Weir	....	script supervisor
Genevieve Whitfield	....	catering coordinator
Julia Wilson Dickson	....	dialect coach (as Julia Wilson-Dickson)

Thanks
Orlando Bloom	....	special thanks
Stephen Frears	....	special thanks
Jonathan King	....	special thanks
Jonathan Loughran	....	special thanks
Athana Matu	....	special thanks
Amanda Seyfried	....	special thanks
István Szabó	....	special thanks (as Istvan Szabo)

Production Companies

• Chrysalis Films
• Canal+ (participation)
• Irish Film Board (funding)
• Mockingbird Pictures
• Morrison Films
• Parallel Film Productions
• Trillian Productions
• WestEnd Films

Distributors

• LD Entertainment (2012) (USA) (theatrical)
• Roadside Attractions (2011) (USA) (theatrical)
• Hopscotch Productions (2011) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Hopscotch Entertainment (2011) (New Zealand) (theatrical)
• Savor (2012) (Spain) (theatrical)
• 90th Parallel Film and Television Productions (2012) (Ireland) (theatrical)
• Alfa Films (2012) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• CDE Videa (2012) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Cathay-Keris Films (2012) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Chrysalis Films (2012) (France) (theatrical)
• E1 Films Canada (2012) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Pathé Films (2011) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Transformer (2013) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Wild Bunch Benelux (2012) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2012) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2012) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Entertainment One (2012) (UK) (DVD)
• Film1 (2013) (Netherlands) (TV) (limited)
• Front Row Filmed Entertainment (2011) (United Arab Emirates) (all media) (Middle East, North Africa & Iran)
• Lionsgate Home Entertainment (2012) (USA) (DVD)
• Lionsgate Home Entertainment (2012) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Mongkol Major (2012) (Thailand) (all media)
• Seven Films (2011) (Greece) (all media)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (2012) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Valentim de Carvalho Multimédia (2012) (Portugal) (all media)

Special Effects

• Team FX (special effects)
• Screen Scene (visual effects)

Other Companies

• 111 Avocats  legal services: France
• Aerfast International  courier services
• Angels the Costumiers  costume supplier (as Angels)
• Aram  costume supplier
• Ardmore Sound  sound post-production
• B.B. Com  french subtitles: original version with subtitles
• Cauldron Studios  music mixing facility
• Cine Electric Ltd.  lighting equipment (as Cine Electric)
• Cosprop  costume supplier
• Deluxe 142 Features  digital intermediate
• Dolby Laboratories  sound mix
• Fingal County Council  special thanks
• Flair Travel  travel agency
• Freeway CAM B.V.  world revenues collection and distribution
• Freud Communications  unit publicity
• Goldcrest Post Production London  adr mixing (as Goldcrest)
• Intelligent Media  international monitoring agency
• Irish Film Location Facilities  facilities
• MCM Security  office security
• Matheson Ormsby Prentice  legal services
• Media Insurance Brokers  insurance (as Media Insurance)
• Moonfleet  publicity: France
• Philip Lee Solicitors  legal services: irish Film Board
• Production Depot  cameras and lenses
• Sands Films  costumes
• Sands  costume supplier
• Sapex Scripts  post-production script services
• Savage Food Company  catering
• Screen Scene  adr mixing: Dublin
• Seeling-Lafferty  script clearance (as Seeling-Lafferty Research)
• Shelbourne Hotel, Dublin  hotel
• Sixteen19  picture editing facilities
• Soundfirm  adr mixing: Sydney
• Strand Security  location security
• Ugosound Studios  sound post-production
• Varèse Sarabande  soundtrack
• Velvet Voice Group Castings  loop group
• Westbury Hotel, Dublin  hotel
• Windmill Lane Pictures  picture post-production
• Windmill Lane Pictures  post-production facilities

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for some sexuality, brief nudity and language

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

UK | Ireland | France | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #47005) | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Singapore:M18 | Portugal:M/12 | Ireland:15A | Brazil:14 | UK:15 | Sweden:15 | Mexico:B | France:U | Argentina:13 | Netherlands:9 | Hong Kong:IIB | Japan:PG12

Filming Locations:

Iveagh Gardens, Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland

Company:

Chrysalis Films

Trivia:

The movie was close to be filmed in the early '90s with István Szabó directing.

Quotes:

Dr. Holloran:Dear Jesus, I don't know what makes people live such miserable lives.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Maltin on Movies: Battleship (#1.76)" (2012)

Soundtrack:

Lay Your Head Down

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.