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 elegant hotel, Albert meets a handsome painter and looks to escape the lie she has been living.

Director:

Rodrigo García

Writers:

Gabriella Prekop (screenplay), John Banville (screenplay)

Stars:

Glenn Close, Mia Wasikowska, Aaron Taylor-Johnson

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 19 wins & 38 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Glenn Close	...	Albert Nobbs
Antonia Campbell-Hughes	...	Emmy (as Antonia Campbell Hughes)
Mia Wasikowska	...	Helen
Pauline Collins	...	Mrs. 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

Storyline

In 19th century Dublin, Albert Nobbs, an eccentric man in the latter part of middle age, works as a waiter in Morrison's Hotel run by the stingy and controlling Marge Baker. Albert is hard working and saves his money so that one day he will be able to eke out a better life for himself by owning his own business rather than work at the hotel. Beyond his work colleagues, he is all alone in the world. One day, a man named Hubert Page is hired by Mrs. Baker to paint one of the rooms in the hotel. She forces Hubert to share Albert's bed for the one night he is required to stay to complete the work, much to Albert's horror. Hubert discovers the reason Albert did not want to share a room with him. But rather than the issue being a problem, Hubert shows Albert that he can follow a slightly different life path than the one he envisioned for himself - one closer to the life that Hubert leads with his wife Cathleen - which includes getting married and having a wife to support him emotionally. ...

---

Plot Keywords:

woman pretending to be a man | hotel | 19th century | painter | waiter | 

---

Taglines:

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

---

Genres:

Drama | Romance

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some sexuality, brief nudity and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

UK Ireland France USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 February 2012 (France)

Also Known As:

El secreto de Albert Nobbs

Filming Locations:

Iveagh Gardens, Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$696,166, 29 January 2012, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$3,014,696

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$7,532,259

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mockingbird Pictures, Trillium Productions, Parallel Film Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Glenn Close emailed Pauline Collins when the screenplay was completed, thinking she would be perfect for the part of the haughty hotel manager. The two had remained friends ever since making Paradise Road (1997). Collins leapt at the chance.

---

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

Dr. Holloran: Why aren't you in fancy dress?
Albert Nobbs: Me sir? But I'm a waiter.
Dr. Holloran: Well I'm a doctor. We are both disguised as ourselves. That's a good one, eh?

---

Connections

Featured in Maltin on Movies: Men in Black 3 (2012)

---

Soundtracks

Lay Your Head Down
Music by Brian Byrne
Lyrics by Glenn Close
Performed by Sinéad O'Connor

User Reviews

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.