Albert Nobbs' review: Story a little too creepy Drama. Starring Glenn Close, Janet Mc. Teer, Mia Wasikowska and Aaron Johnson. Directed by Rodrigo Garcia. R. 1. 13 minutes. At Bay Area theaters.) Glenn Close has the title role in "Albert Nobbs," as a 1. Englishwoman passing as a man ever since her Dickensian childhood culminated in gang rape. In the many moons since then, Albert has worked as a waiter, discreetly refilling water glasses and allowing herself a tiny, repressed half smile maybe once every five years when someone asks for a second dessert. What can be said for poor little Albert, except to acknowledge frankly that there are certain screen characters who, by their nobility, innocence and eccentric virtues - not to mention their unmistakable talent for unhappiness - arouse a mad desire to see things even go worse for them. Audience sympathy reaches critical mass, tips over, and next thing you know, you're actively looking forward, say, to Vera Drake's arrest as an abortionist. Or to whatever delightful fate the filmmakers have in store for dear, stunned- looking, practically invisible and yet desperately needy Mr. Nobbs. Albert has a sad little dream, to open a tobacco shop and then someday retire to the sea. But then little by little, under the influence of an urbane and knowing housepainter, Mr. Page (Janet Mc. Teer) - who pulls open his work shirt to reveal that he, too, is a woman - Albert starts to dream even bigger. Albert starts to dream of having ..
Albert Nobbs CastPhoto: Patrick Redmond, Chrysalis Films. Image 1 of 3. Glenn Close in ALBERT NOBBSGlenn Close in ALBERT NOBBS. Photo: Patrick Redmond, Chrysalis Films. Image 2 of 3. Glenn Close in ALBERT NOBBSGlenn Close in ALBERT NOBBS. Http:// - Click to Subscribe! http:// - Become a Fan! http:// - Follow Us! Albert Nobbs hits theaters on January 27th, 2012. Cast: Glenn Close. Award winning actress Glenn Close (Albert Nobbs) plays a woman passing as a man in order to work and survive in 19th century Ireland. Some thirty years after donning mens clothing, she finds herself trapped in a prison of her. Photo: Patrick Redmond, Roadside Attractions. Image 3 of 3. Glenn Close and Janet Mc. Teer in ALBERT NOBBSGlenn Close and Janet Mc. Teer in ALBERT NOBBS. Photo: Patrick Redmond, Roadside Attractions. Albert Nobbs' review: Story a little too creepy. Back to Gallery Though the movie drips and aches with good intentions, I do wonder how lesbians may feel about seeing lesbianism presented as a mere traumatized distortion of female heterosexuality. In addition to Albert, with his history of gang rape, we find out, early in the film, that "Mr. Page" once had an abusive husband. What's more, this theme returns later in the film. Casting about for a worthy wife candidate, Albert fixes on a co- worker, a randy young waitress (Mia Wasikowska) about 4. She has no idea he's a woman; she just thinks he's a weirdo - and it's hard not to agree. For sure, characters that watch and wait, like Albert Nobbs, can be unsettling, no matter how Chaplinesque and well meaning. Desire denied has its disturbing shadow element, and as Albert dreams of a fulfilled life, his delusion and repression radiate an uncomfortable air. Characters as out of touch and desperate as Albert Nobbs awaken an instinctive doubt and distrust in an audience. Now in a story meant to be read, this distasteful edge would not be present. Nor would it be present onstage. Albert Nobbs" started as a story and then was adapted for a stage play 3. Close.) But the poetic equation of this kind of tale, which would function metaphorically and suggestively in another medium, becomes literal and real in the rougher medium of the screen. And realism's demands push us in directions that do Albert Nobbs - and the film "Albert Nobbs" - no favors. There is an undeniable ick factor, borne in part by Close's viability and detailed and strong acting. If she weren't so good in the role, Albert might be easier to take, but as it stands, she is a convincing, mysterious and, to be honest, repellent person, one who is alert to others in a way that would freak people out. Still, as a 3. 0- years- after- the- fact record of what Close once did onstage, the movie has some value. Mc. Teer is wonderfully inspired and vital as Mr. Page, and Wasikowska proves, with the fire she shows here, that the deer- in- the- headlights thing she did in "Jane Eyre" was a performance, not a mannerism. Moreover, despite an overall atmosphere of plodding benevolence - Rodrigo Garcia, at times, directs the movie as if he were Albert Nobbs - the movie occasionally breaks into life, as in the exhilarating scene on the beach, or virtually every scene involving Mc. Teer. "Albert Nobbs" is an experiment that almost worked.
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