1 Time Film Excess Award Winner:
Best Song: Lay Down Your Head, Glenn Close, Brian Byrne; Sinéad O'Connor
4 Time Film Excess Nominee:
Best Actress: Glenn Close (lost to Bérénice Bejo for The Artist)
Best Supporting Actress: Mia Wasikowska (lost to Agnieszka Grochowska for In Darkness)
Best Makeup and Hair: Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnson, Matthew W. Mungle (lost to J. Edgar)
Best Song: Lay Down Your Head, Glenn Close, Brian Byrne; Sinéad O'Connor (won)
+ Best Irish Movie of the Year
+ Most Overlooked Movie of the Year
 |
| Mia Wasikowska, Glenn Close and Aaron Taylor-Johnson on the poster for Rodrigo García's Albert Nobbs |
Albert Nobbs is a UK-Irish co-production that has been in the works for ages: It is a labor of love for its co-writer/co-producer/star Glenn Close (101 Dalmatians (1996)), who played the title character first in 1982 on the stage and won an Obie award for it. The story is based on a novella by Irish writer George Moore (Confessions of a Young Man (1888)).
Albert Nobbs is a waiter at the Morrison Hotel in Dublin. He is proper, introverted, respected and liked. But he carries a heavy secret beneath his spotless suit: That he is biologically a woman. Now, he learns that it might be possible for him to live a more fulfilled life.
Nobbs has a fantastic cast and is a delicious period treat (for those with a hankering for such) with a heart-warming, moving story at its center:
Oscar-nominated Janet McTeer (Hannah Arendt (2012)) is strong as the woman in disguise, who shows Nobbs a way; Mia Wasikowska (Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)) is cheeky and later heart-breaking as a young lady; Mark Williams (101 Dalmatians), Brendan Gleeson (Calvary (2014)) and Pauline Collins (Quartet (2012)) fill out secondary parts superbly; Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Match Point (2005)) has a small, fine role, and, carrying the film, Close is nothing short of stupendous: In Albert Nobbs, she gives one of the most primeval and transformative female performances in years. Within minutes, the way her character has disguised himself in his surroundings is a fact beyond question. Close was Oscar-nominated for her sixth time for this, regrettably not winning her deserved statue this time either. She lost it to Meryl Streep's turn as The Iron Lady (2011) (Margaret Thatcher); also a great performance, but less resonating for me.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Godzilla (2014)) does well as a young ruffian who finds employment at the hotel, but becomes a problem there. His role is never villainized, although it easily could have been, partly thanks to Johnson's acting; however, his otherworldly attractive looks are more of a challenge than a gift for him here, as they actually threaten to stand in the way of his performance.
 |
| Brendan Gleeson and Glenn Close in one of the many wonderful scenes in Rodrigo García's Albert Nobbs |
Rodrigo García (Six Feet Under (2001-05)) has directed Nobbs well. The film has a keen and sensitive eye for all kinds of disguised habits and personal and sexual traits that are kept out of sight by its characters. It is touching throughout; perhaps especially so is Nobbs' naïve and unknowing attitude towards his own status and possible way forward: It underlines the way people at the time really didn't know much about alternative sexualities and gender mix-ups. (Not that people in perhaps most countries have grown much smarter since, though.) With some irony the film lays bare how a woman like Collins' hotel manager was accepted to misuse and slander about all the people beneath her, while they, in turn, could not (as most) live as they were, if they were anything outside of the accepted norm.
Michael McDonough (Winter's Bone (2010)) has photographed the film with subdued grace. It is co-written by Close, Hungarian writer Gabriella Prekop (Házikoszt (1997)) and John Banville (The Last September (1999)).
One of the film's marvelous scenes is one in which SPOILER Close and McTeer go out in dresses for the first time in years, looking at first mostly like a pair of exotic birds, or, more precisely, as men in dresses. Close's running on the beach is also a very wonderful scene.
The film was also Oscar-nominated for its first-rate make-up and wig achievement by Martial Corneville (Synecdoche, New York (2008)), Lynn Johnson (Apocalypto (2006)) and Matthew W. Mungle (This Is Where I Leave You (2014)).
Nobbs has a perfect ending and credit song called Lay Down Your Head, written by Close and Brian Byrne (The Good Doctor (2011)), sung by Sinéad O'Connor (Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008), performer).
- Don't miss this one!
Related posts:
Rodrigo García: 2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
Carnivàle - 1st season (2003, TV-series) - Grand but oft clotted-up period mystery show
Watch the trailer for the film here
Cost: 8 mil. $
Box office: 7.5 mil. $
= Big flop
[Albert Nobbs made 3 mil. $ (40 % of its total gross) in the States. It was, disappointingly, wrestled out of theaters by louder, less tender fare. In its many year-long story of development, Amanda Seyfried and Orlando Bloom were previously cast as the younger hotel-employees. (Wasikowska and Taylor-Johnson are undoubtedly the much better fit.) It is a shame that this fine film couldn't break even at least, so buy it on DVD, Bluray or as VoD today and help it out, - it's a great film!]
What do you think of Albert Nobbs?
No comments:
Post a Comment