Reviews: Albert Nobbs

What’s it all about?

Albert Nobbs (Close) works as a butler in a posh hotel in late 19th-century Dublin. But Albert is a woman in disguise. Her secret is in danger of coming out when she befriends a painter, Hubert (McTeer) and gets close to the maid, Helen (Wasikowska).

What’s good?

Glenn Close puts in an amazing performance, which earned her an Oscar nomination. It’s easy to see how people might believe Albert to be a man.

The cast are terrific, including Aaron Johnson as a manipulative charmer, and the film’s both funny and dramatic. The inner struggles of the characters are heartbreaking.

What’s bad?

There’s a sense of impending doom that can make it quite hard to watch. And one of the dragged-up characters seems too obviously a woman.

VERDICT: Glenn Close is brilliant in this amusing and affecting drama.