It might be easy to dismiss Albert Nobbs as a pro-homosexual, pro-feminist film with a heavy-handed political message—but only if you've merely read a synopsis or watched a trailer. In an Oscar-nominated role, Glenn Close stars as a cross-dressing lesbian in 19th century Ireland, but as it turns out, Rodrigo Garcia's period drama transcends the superficialities of issues of gender and politics to probe deeper into spirituality and human experience.
The story follows a hotel waiter named Albert Nobbs (Close) as she seeks love, freedom, and opportunity not always afforded to women in her day. In her case, she dresses as a man to obtain employment, but years later, she seems unable to escape her gender-bending disguise and wrestles with her sexual identity as a result. Regarding the "cause" of her homosexuality on the nature-vs.-nurture continuum, the film seems to lean toward the latter. Garcia, working from a script by Close and John Banville adapted from a short story by Irish novelist George Moore, understands that Nobbs' circumstances go beyond sexuality, and that her identity and actions are driven by every human's longing to love and be loved.
Glenn Close as the title character
Garcia, who directed 2010's beautiful and touching Mother and Child, a story about the universality and sanctity of motherhood, further confirms his intuitiveness into humanity and a rare sensibility of capturing it on the screen. He not only sees into the depths of his characters, but he also possesses a transparent love for them that, in essence, extends to the viewer. This artistry and consciousness emerge in every shot and scene of his work. With Albert Nobbs, we see it in the still, quiet and graceful moments of Nobbs staring blankly at nothing, imagining herself in a better life.
In an understated performance, Close gives these moments a genuine presence. Her subtle actions and gestures construct a suppressed woman who is unable to be herself—or at least who thinks she is. In her ambitions to marry a young maiden named Helen Dawes (Mia Wasikowska in a notable performance) and to open up a tobacco shop, she embodies such a true naivety about the world and herself that causes us to feel sympathy. Oscar nominee Janet McTeer, who plays Hubert Page, another closeted and cross-dressing lesbian in the hotel, also stands out as her foil. In contrast to Nobbs, Page leads the ideal life for a woman in her situation, secretly married and living in a house with her wife.
Janet McTeer as Hubert Page
Because of their common denominator, Nobbs and Page form a bond that expounds the character of Nobbs as she dwells further on her thoughts and feelings. Their camaraderie, too, invokes delightful humor. Strange yet clever, it gives the film necessary relief from its weighty subject matter. The most effective use of it arrives when, after a tragic event, Nobbs and Page put on dresses and take a walk. The scene, blending both comedy and pathos, shows Nobbs running freely across the beach, arms in the air, and taking a hard fall into the sand. Besides provoking laughter, it communicates levels of insight into Nobbs and, even more, epitomizes Garcia's approach to her character, seeing her as fully human, not just as a homosexual.
As epitomized by such scenes, Albert Nobbs speaks volumes of truth, but it's not flawless. The story itself, though a fit character study and vehicle for the talents of Close, McTeer, and Wasikowska, lacks enough emotional tension to ever make us fully surrender. It also includes a few subplots that never evolve and feel disconnected. While Nobbs hopes to marry Dawes, Dawes begins to fall for Joe (Aaron Johnson), a handsome hotel employee—but their storyline never works. From a plan to go to America, to a scheme to steal from Nobbs, to an unexpected pregnancy, it feels unnecessarily dramatic, distracting us from the main story at hand.
Mia Wasikowska as Helen Dawes
But the transcendence of the film overcomes these few missteps. While not Garcia's highest achievement, the film exhibits the grace and gifts of both the director and star. All the more, it does something uncommon in the way it deals with gender and politics, particularly the implications of homosexuality. It moves beyond them, going under the surface, and portrays Nobbs as the person she is: a woman, a person, a human soul who longs for love and—perhaps unknown to her—her Creator.
Talk About It
Discussion starters
Do you think that Albert Nobbs handles its subject matter—a cross-dressing lesbian looking to marry another woman—carefully and sensitively? From a Christian standpoint, is there anything wrong with a film depicting homosexual characters? Why or why not?
Some critics say the film makes a political statement about homosexuality. What do you think? If it does, what is that message, and do you agree with it?
At the core of the story is a woman who simply wants to love and be loved. Why do all humans have this desire? What it does it mean in relationship to God?
The Family Corner
For parents to consider
Albert Nobbs is rated R for some sexuality, brief nudity, and language. Many characters use profanity and vulgar language. They say the f-word on multiple occasions and talk openly about sex. One sequence shows a man and woman in bed together; it infers oral sex, but has no nudity. In another scene, Hubert briefly exposes her breasts, and in another Nobbs, briefly exposes a nipple.