- Film Review
- Reviewed By Stella Papamichael
-
3 out of 5
This intriguing period drama represents a labour of love for Glenn Close, who takes on the title character 30 years after appearing in the off-Broadway play. She plays a delicate woman who lives as a male servant in 19th-century Dublin, ostensibly to earn a crust in hard times. But as the story unfolds, it's suggested that Nobbs feels protected in men's clothes. She only yearns for liberation after meeting a more bullish transvestite (Janet McTeer, bringing a touch of lightness) and aims to start afresh by courting housemaid Helen (Jane Eyre's Mia Wasikowska) for a wife. Director Rodrigo Garcia (Nine Lives) leaves a question mark over the exact nature of Nobbs's fixation with her and the lure of the story (co-adapted by Close) is in trying to work out what drives Nobbs to extremes. What frustrates, though, is that even with a captivating, Oscar-nominated performance by the star, the servant remains inscrutable beneath that starched collar.
Plot Summary
A woman in 19th-century Ireland has lived in disguise as a man for 30 years, holding down a job as a butler at a Dublin hotel. She meets a married house painter whom she discovers is a fellow cross-dresser, and is inspired by her new friend's happy life to seek a wife of her own. Period drama, starring Glenn Close, Mia Wasikowska, Aaron Johnson and Janet McTeer.
Cast and crew
Cast
- Albert Nobbs
- Glenn Close
- Helen
- Mia Wasikowska
- Joe
- Aaron Johnson
- Holloran
- Brendan Gleeson
- Hubert
- Janet McTeer
- Viscount Yarrell
- Jonathan Rhys Meyers
- Mrs Baker
- Pauline Collins
- Cathleen
- Bronagh Gallagher
- Polly
- Brenda Fricker
- Mary
- Maria Doyle Kennedy
Crew
- Director
- Rodrigo Garcia
- Share this episode
-