Hi kisssara,
"I am a big fan of her work...but this performance was pretty much one note. I felt nothing for her. Did not understand if she really loved the young woman or was just simply delusional. I think the "painter" man/woman was the terrific performer in this film.
Strange, "little" performance: Close. So close to the vest....little is revealed."
I agree that Janet McTeer as Hubert was brilliant. Glenn Close was equally excellent, and perhaps her character was meant to be mysterious and aloof. Afterall, we know very little about her background and how she came to be a waiter/butler at the hotel. If you read the short story by George Moore or listen carefully to what Albert Nobbs reveals about himself to Hubert in the film, then you may get clues to the reasons behind Albert’s odd behaviour. I really think he loved Helen but he was not expressing it very well as he seemed to lack the social skills for intimate relations. The “people skills” he had were used for serving strangers and making them feel comfortable and satisfied with the hotel staff service. Maybe he never got the chance to properly go out on a date with anyone before and didn’t know how to woo/court/impress a woman, even though he was born a woman himself. Perhaps being a “man” for thirty years, since he was aged fourteen, made him forget what it was like to be a woman. There was a funny scene when Albert and Hubert wore dresses and tried to be “womanly/feminine” but it looked so awkward because they have both been “men” for so long.
There is so much complexity and substance to a character like Albert Nobbs that it is difficult to discuss it, unless you studied gender/sex/sexuality studies at a tertiary level or higher. Academics will find Albert Nobb’s character a very interesting study into a person’s biological versus performative/social construct of gender.
The main reason for Albert to become a man was to escape poverty and survive in a male dominated world. I think it was purely for survival and had nothing to do with her dressing like a man because she felt like she should have been born a man. I really liked the film ‘Albert Nobbs’ and its characters, and hope Glenn Close wins the Best Actress Oscar this year.
Perhaps the production notes from the film’s website may help give you a better understanding of Albert’s character or Glenn’s portrayal of him:
http://albertnobbs-themovie.com/#production
reply
share