From February 2012. Carlos says, "He wants more sex."
“Albert Nobbs”
This film, based on a short story by George Moore, is a little slow but definitely worth seeing. It would have been better if the script writers, one of whom was Glenn Close, had included more heterosexual and homosexual scenes, both of which are very limited.
Glenn Close plays the role of Albert. She pretends to be a man in order to obtain a waiter position in a Dublin hotel. Her makeup and attire do not make her look totally masculine, but they are enough to fool the help living in the hotel as well as her employer, Mrs. Baker (Pauline Collins).
When Hubert (Janet McTeer) is hired as a housepainter at the hotel, Albert is told that he must share a room with him. Hubert discovers Albert’s true gender but does not reveal it since he too has a secret. He, also a woman, is living with Cathleen (Bronagh Gallagher), as husband and wife. This is quite a shock to Albert who is thinking of opening a tobacco shop and finding a wife to work in it with him.
Things heat up when an Irish hunk, Joe (Aaron Johnson), enters the picture and has an affair with one of the maids, Helen (Mia Wasikowska). Albert is attracted to Helen and invites her to take a walk in the park which Joe encourages Helen to do. Joe knows of Albert’s savings, and his motive is to rip him off.
The script is poignant without being overly drawn, and the acting of Close and McTeer is a tour de force. Every scene requires superb facial expressions by Close and she performs them superbly. This is a remarkable movie, notwithstanding occasional slow scenes.
I will never forget Glenn Close’s dramatic stage performance as Norman Desmond in “Sunset Boulevard” and will now add her portrayal of Albert Nobbs to that special memory.
