2011. Dir: Rodrigo Garcia. Starring: Glenn Close, Mia Wasikowska, Aaron Johnson, Janet McTeer and Pauline Collins. ●●●●○
It's fairly common for me to disagree with the majority of critical and commercial response to movies, in fact on a regular basis I watch films hailed as the second coming only to walk away with a "huh?" and a shrug. Sometimes I just don't understand the fuss being made. Oddly though this usually only happens in one direction, I may detest a film everyone else loves but when a film is getting a mauling the best I can usually say is "it's not a complete disaster." However on watching Albert Nobbs I was shocked by the critical derision it have received on both sides of the Atlantic, what's more I don't really understand why, although I suspect it is in part due to the high expectations surrounding Glenn Close's very own passion project. Glenn first played the central role of a male impersonator off Broadway in 1982 and has been working on adapting George Moore's short story for over 20 years, and the sad truth is no matter how good you think the performance and the film is it wasn't worth a 20 year delay.
It's essentially the story of the emotional awakening of a repressed button upped butler who happens to be a woman. In 19th century Dublin with poor social mobility for men, let alone women, Nobbs has spent 20 years masquerading as a man in order to manage a dignified existence and save up to purchase a tobacconist. Her painful but safe life is disturbed when house painter Hubert Page (Janet McTeer) has to share Albert's room for the night and discovers Albert's secret. After a few hours of panic Hubert admits that she too is a woman, opening up a whole new world of emotional connection to Nobbs. Indeed the plan for the shop changes from being a one man show to a partnership as Alberts woo the impressionable young maid Helen (Mia Wasikowska).
Most of the characters are largely unlikeable, Nobbs is penny-pinching and emotionally insensitive, Helen is greedy and cheeky even Brendan Gleeson's Doctor is obsequious and a drunkard. Yet it is to the credit of everyone's performances that in spite of all that we care about the future of the characters.
Glenn in particular completely gets under the skin of Albert Nobbs, although frankly you'd expect that given the amount of time she's worked on the character, it's a totally committed performance as furtive and damaged as she is hopeful for the future, every moment of her history etched on her face, every decision the character makes reflected in her eyes. Janet McTeer is also masterful, less so for the emotionality her relative freeness and frankness leaves less to project from behind a mask, but physically she's perfect. There's a great scene where Close and McTeer put on dresses and take a walk along the beach, and they look like men in dresses, layers of performance which are incredible.
Wasikowska is less successful, her modern mannerisms difficult to get past, but she's the only cast member who seems out of place.
The script does a good job of highlighting the hypocrisies in Victorian society both in terms of class and gender, albeit mainly through the gossipy monologues from Pauline Collins' Hotelier. Where Jonathan Rhys Meyers aristocratic cameo is given free range to sleep with whomever he wants and Brendan Gleeson is conducting an illicit affair with one of the waitresses the merest suggestion of a scandal with Nobbs or Helen causes the eventual doom of their characters.
There are plenty of areas where the film gets things terribly wrong too. The pace is deadly slow - believe me I understand why many viewers consider the film to be dull and it is purely an actors love in - which has the doubled effect of confusing the timeline, about 18 months passes through the film, based on the seasons and certain plot points developing , but there's no depth to the time passing. The moments where Nobbs imagines the future of the shop cheapen both the idea and the film with the sub-standard graphics and finally the relentless gloom works against the viewer. Whilst I have no doubt that things were tough in the 1800's a glimmer of hope would have been nice (hopefully that's not too much of a spoiler).
I also loved Brian Byrne and Glenn Close's main theme Lay Your Head Down, both as performed by Sinead O'Connor in the end credits and as used in the narrative, it's a beautiful piece of music that deserved more attention at the end of last year.
This ranks low on the four blob films but I do believe it fully deserves that fourth blob and I would definitely recommend the movie to anyone.
Tuesday, 8 May 2012
Albert Nobbs
Tuesday, 10 January 2012
Mother and Child
2009. Dir: Rodrigo Garcia. Starring: Naomi Watts, Annette Bening, Kerry Washington, Jimmy Smits and Samuel L. Jackson. ●●●○○
As I said last weekend I was steadfast in refusing to see the Meryl does Maggie movie and so chose the less controversial adoption melodrama Mother and Child, and indeed this was a wise choice as Rodrigo Garcia's gentle paced picture was a delightful piece of sentimentality even if it slightly unravelled with it's slew of coincidences towards the end.
The film opens on a flashback/dream with the young Karen, later to become Annette Bening, making the sort of mistake many 14 year olds do and then offering the outcome to the local Nuns for adoption. We then move forward 37 years to the present day, Karen now outwardly a successful physiotherapist remains bitter and emotionally stunted, unable to connect with her co-workers or her maid/mother's carer. Meanwhile Naomi Watts is a high-flying attorney, with a penchant for asserting her authority through sex and struggling with abandonment issues stemming from being adopted. Have you guessed yet? Finally we meet Kerry Washington following the process to adopt, Juno-like from grad student Shareeka Epps.
All three women will find their lives changed by motherhood, and ultimately all three will learn that being mothers is the most rewarding and wonderful experience even if they won't get the opportunity to fully establish that sort of relationship. Perhaps oddly (perhaps not, let's remember the title) the men are defined purely in terms of their relationships to women, either as weak pawns of stronger characters (Washington's husband David Ramsey, controlled by his mother, Marc Blucas or to a lesser extent the snazzily dressed Samuel L. Jackson) or at best quite and supportive - Jimmy Smits as the patient colleague of Bening who eventually settles down with her helping her find a less painful existence.
The film bears all the hallmarks of being produced by Alejandro González Iñárritu with it's structural coincidences, especially in the final act as all the remaining loose ends get tidied up - although there's one neat twist involving Bening walking somewhere which makes for a nice opportunity to see her emotional as well as physical journey.
The performances are what really works in this film, Bening especially gives a wonderful turn as a woman who can not let get of the daughter she never met. The moment when she hears - second hand - of her own mothers regret at making her give the baby up is incredibly moving. The turn makes for an interesting companion piece to Lisa Cholodenko's The Kids are All Right and I imagine most fans of that film will also be drawn to Garcia's picture. S. Epatha Merkerson is also great in potentially a thankless role as Washington's mother.
The design of the film and direction is largely uninvolving, and overall the film could do with some hefty cuts as there are sections where it labours unnecessarily, nonetheless this is a fine melodrama and I look forward to seeing what writer/director Garcia does next. (After Albert Nobbs that is.)
By the way - to my readers this doesn't feel like one of my best reviews. I guess I'm a little rusty after a couple of months off. Next week I'm seeing War Horse which will hopefully put me back on track.
