Albert Nobbs
The want for financial
security can lead to the change in Identity. `
The movie Albert Nobbs takes place during the 1800s staring
Glenn Close as women being a man. Glenn Close’s character, Albert Nobbs, is a
butler at a passing through hotel in Dublin Ireland. This drama is well
executed with Closes performance. She brings the intensity and seriousness of
this economical choice to screen. Along side Close’s performance, Janet McTeer,
the painter Mr. Hurbet Page, does a great job to bring in some joy into the
movie. Besides that slight joy, this movie overall is depressing.
The movie begins with Albert getting up and starting his day
as usual as a butler at the hotel that Mrs. Baker (Pauline Collins) ran. Albert
knew the hotel in and out. Most of the hotel’s staff comes and goes, however
Albert remains as a well-rounded butler. Albert’s duties were typical duties
for a male butler. He shinned shoes, polished silverware, and waited on the
residence of the hotel. Each night after the festivities of the wealthy that
Albert butlered for, he took his tips upstairs and hid his money and had a up
to date record of his income. This scene first really shows why Albert made the
choice to pretend to be a man, economic security. Throughout the first half of
the movie it shows Albert being a butler and earning money, this makes the
movie seem repetitive until the plot changes from a repressed, reclusive story.
Hubert Page comes to work for Mrs. Baker briefly as a painter for the
hotel. Right when McTeer enters the
scene the audience can sense that he knows more about Albert then everyone else
in the hotel. Mr. Page is and oddly built “man”, he has very broad fluffy chest
and shoulders and is lanky. It is clear that Mr. Page is not a man to the
audience but not to the characters in the movie. Mr. Page is also a woman
pretending to be a man. She reveals herself by showing her breast to Albert.
Albert for the first time in the movie has hope and the tone of the movie
changes into a more comfortable tone. Mr. Page explains his situation to Albert
about having a wife and making it almost a business partnership instead of a
sexual partnership. Then Albert begins to think about his dream of owning a
shop but would need to take a wife to make the shop seem be run by a proper
gentleman. Albert beings to take
interest in a maid from the hotel as a possible wife, he attempts to lure Helen
(Mia Wasikowska) in. Without ruining the
rest of the movie, it just becomes more depressing. It is just sad that a woman
chose to lead her life in a way that is fearful and unnatural to her and must
live every moment in dread.
An aspect of filmmaking in the movie Albert Nobbs I believe
was a strong aspect of the movie was the costumes. Costumes are something that I always look in
movies. This movie in particular to other movies that are set in the past are
particular interesting to me and fascinating to look at. Since Albert Nobbs is
set in the 1800s there are a clear differences of social classes visible in
dress during that era. The guests of the Hotel were upper class. The costumes
for these individuals are the fine lace; fine fabric dresses with large petty
coats. The maids and butlers are in the typical dress. The black and white
dresses and then the suits for the butlers. These outfits really haven’t
evolved over the years. Mr. Page is a painter trying to hide a chest, so he is
in a heavy overcoat with thick suspenders and heavy pants and shirt. Mr. Page
makes a fine living nothing fancy so he has the money to wear higher quality clothes.
Generally the costumes fit well with the location and time frame that the movie
takes place in.
Background music is also an aspect of filmmaking that plays
a strong role in this movie. Since this movie in general is a gloomy
restrictive tone. The movie’s music follows this pattern. The movie’s
background music really is the same as all movies. The music follows the tone,
so when something happy is happening the movie is more upbeat high-pitched
notes and faster moving tempo. When the mood is depressing like the majority of
the movie, the music is at a slower tempo with deeper longer notes. The music
either foreshadows the next scene or depicts what is happening.
The last element of filmmaking that made this film a
nominated film was the acting. Glenn close had done a superb job playing a
women being a man. The acting was not mediocre.
This film had strong actors in it. The film required skilled actors to
make this film convincing how serious and depressing this situation is. Close
brought out her true strength in acting to portray this controversial issue in
past and even the present!
Overall this film was well directed, had strong acting and impeccable
scenery/costumes. However, I was not fond of this plot. It was just the story
itself that was a depressing gloomy story. If other views like movies during
this time era and showed issues like this, then this film would be a fine film
for them to watch. It was hard to follow the plot of the love life in the
story. This may have been because I do
not catch on to hidden messages very well. Audiences that are older (35+) and
educated would be a good target audience for this film. This film is about the
history and controversial issues and this demographic would be good for that!
This movie in a larger picture is just to show that money has always been a
cause for people to make rash decisions.
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