Albert Nobbs ** (R)

Mark Glass | Jan 30, 2012, 12:43 p.m.

Albert Nobbs

Following Meryl Streep’s Margaret Thatcher impression in Iron Lady, and Leo DiCaprio’s take on Mr. Hoover in J. Edgar, here’s the third vanity project of the season, with Glenn close playing a Victorian woman passing as a primly obsequious male valet in a small Irish hotel. It's a dramatic variation on Victor, Victoria, without any of its humor or charm. Her Mr. Nobbs is not an actual figure from history, but apparently the role embodies a phenomenon of the times, in which a number of women had to pose as men to find employment.

Mr. Nobbs leads a quiet, lonely life, guarding his/her gender secret and surprisingly large savings, hoping to open a shop some day for true independence. When (s)he learns that other women have not only employed similar ruses, but actually formed “marriages” for better cover and other benefits, Nobbs aspires to something of that nature. One senses all along that nothing good will come of this, though there’s some suspense in what the source of Nobbs’ undoing may be. Even though there’s a certain value in understanding just how much women have had to overcome in the past century, the story is slow, uncomfortable and ultimately unsatisfying, other than the chance to marvel at Close’s versatile artistry. (1/27/12)