Albert Nobbs (2011)

A timid and lonely woman (Glenn Close), working as a waiter at a hotel, has been living as a male under the name of Albert Nobbs since the age of 14. When she meets another woman (Janet McTeer), who not only has been living her life as a man but is married to a woman (Bronagh Gallagher), "Albert" begins to question his solitary and lonely existence. After playing Albert in a 1983 stage production, this became a dream project for Close who was determined to bring it to the screen. On one hand, I think it was good that it took so long for Close to bring it to the screen because there's more pathos to the character of an older Albert Nobbs living a sad lonely life for so long as opposed to a fairly young Albert. As for the film itself, it's a decent film with a compelling storyline and enough detail to the characters that one has an interest in their outcome. While Close's make up is excellent in the sense that it doesn't look like make up, the prosthetics make her face immobile to the point of distraction. Still, she gives Nobbs a quiet sadness that is quite poignant. But it's Janet McTeer who steals Close's thunder. Tall and strapping, walking with a swagger and a bemused lopsided grin, she's the real thing. Directed by the underrated Rodrigo Garcia (THINGS YOU CAN TELL JUST BY LOOKING AT HER). With Mia Wasikowska, Pauline Collins, Brenda Fricker, Brendan Gleeson, Aaron Johnson and Jonathan Rhys Meyers.