Glenn Close gives a precise and impassioned performance in "Albert Nobbs," and it’s a shame there’s so slight a story built around this character.
Nobbs, played by Close, is the detail-oriented head of the waitstaff at a 19th-century Irish hotel. Nobbs‘ dream is to save up his pennies and open a tobacconist’s shop. His secret is that he’s actually a woman, hiding her sexuality for 30 years.
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‘Albert Nobbs’
Opens Friday, Jan. 27, at the Broadway Centre Cinemas; rated R for some sexuality, brief nudity and language; 113 minutes.
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The script, written by Close with Gabrielle Prekop and John Banville (from a story by the late Irish writer George Moore), centers on Nobbs’ desire to settle down to domestic life, following the example of a woman-disguised-as-a-man laborer (Janet McTeer) by taking a wife — and courting a young maid, Helen (Mia Wasikowska), away from her too-rough boyfriend (Aaron Johnson).
Director Rodrigo Garcia gives Close the space she needs to realize this intriguing character fully, though in the end the story never supports enough drama or tension to make Nobbs’ plight truly touching.
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