In my review of "The Iron Lady," which stars Meryl Streep as former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, I praised her acting, but I had reservations about the quality of the movie.
At the close of the article, I wrote, "We've already seen Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe, and watching her you think, wow, give her the Oscar. Then you see Streep as Thatcher and you think, wow, give HER the Oscar. Not so fast. Williams is terrific and Streep is brilliant. But there's another actress hovering in the wings possibly bound for Oscar glory. Wait until you see Glenn Close in 'Albert Nobbs.'"
Well, your chance to see Close is here.
"Albert Nobbs" might be the emotionally saddest movie you will ever see, but it is highly recommended.
Well-deserved Oscar nominations went to Close (best actress) and Janet McTeer (best supporting actress) for their superb acting in the film. For the record, Streep and Williams were also nominated for best actress.
I like all three of these best actress performances, and Streep may win because her acting is flashier, but Close deserves the Oscar.
However, the real acting revelation of the year is McTeer. She should win for best supporting actress. She may not, because of the rush to judgment for "The Help," a revisionist work that distorts the true history and softens the pain of the fight for equality. Octavia Spencer from that movie was also nominated for best supporting actress and is the front-runner for the award.
"Albert Nobbs" reminds us again that women were treated as second-class citizens for too long in too much of the world, a situation that continues today in many countries. This is a quiet and powerful movie with strong characters from director Rodrigo Garcia. It's filled with dramatic jolts.
Close plays Nobbs, a woman forced to live as a man in order to have a good-paying job. In Ireland in the 1800s, women were cooks or maids and not much else. If their family owned a shop, they could help out there.
Even as a man, Nobbs is reduced to working as a butler at a popular hotel. Years have passed and the tedium of the job is taking its toll. Nobbs has dreams of saving enough money to open a tobacco shop.
Midway through the film, which richly details life in this era, Nobbs believes that a young woman (Mia Wasikowska), who is also working at the hotel as a chambermaid, may wish to be his partner. Not just at the tobacco shop, but also in life.
It's here that the movie, which has been slow and deliberate, but not boring, takes a very risky thematic turn and becomes measurably more dramatic. After all, under the suit and man's haircut, and with a stiff walk through a life that must seem like a hall of mirrors, Nobbs is a woman first, and a lesbian woman at that.
You're so expertly drawn into the story that much of what happens surprises you, as situations reveal new levels of Nobbs' persona. You have believed, as do all of the film's other characters, that Nobbs is a man. Close is that good, and the story's precise writing helps enhance her success.
Nobbs' interest in a life that may include a relationship with another woman is triggered by her interaction with a carpenter-painter who works at the hotel. He's Hubert Page, and he also leads an interesting life. Page is played by McTeer, and the events that follow are for you to discover.
At the same time that all of this is going on, the chambermaid has become involved with a handsome lad in his 20s (Aaron Johnson), who finds work at the hotel as a handyman.
We begin to question some of his motives, especially as we see that Nobbs keeps a detailed record of the money he has earned and the money he has saved, which is hidden in his room.
Additionally, at the very beginning of the picture, a male guest who arrives with a woman (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) instructs the desk clerk that an adjoining room is required for his best friend, another man. This little corner of the world is definitely rife with sexual adventure and a gender-bending underground.
There is much more going on in the multilayered "Albert Nobbs." The movie has a depth that is welcome. In addition to acting and producing, Close also co-wrote the very tight screenplay, along with John Banville.
The superb direction is from Rodrigo Garcia, who also made another exceptional female-centric drama, "Mother And Child," with Annette Bening, Naomi Watts and Cherry Jones.Ê
In addition to the riveting work from Close and McTeer, the acting by the entire cast, which also includes Brendan Gleeson and Brenda Fricker, is very good.
As "Albert Nobbs" unreels, we watch Close come to terms with her character questioning his sense ofÊ reality. Nobbs, as the emotional heart of the movie, becomes weary of the losses, old and new, that have comprised his life, especially the loss of her gender identity.
"A Dangerous Method" is a very interesting, dialogue-heavy drama about the coming together of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung as they developed their theories about psychoanalysis and human sexuality.
It's well-directed by David Cronenberg with a keen awareness that his is a film filled with ideas. Christopher Hampton wrote the screenplay from his stage play "The Talking Cure," which is based on John Kerr's book "A Most Dangerous Method."
At the start of the picture, Knightley's character, Sabina, a mentally disturbed woman, is taken to an institution for examination. There she will encounter Freud and Jung, who will participate, not only in an analysis of her mania, butÊalso in aÊdance of jealousy and obsession with each other over her beauty and sexual energy.
Viggo Mortensen is Freud and Michael Fassbender is Jung. Both actors are extraordinary, and their engrossing interaction is worth the price of a ticket.
The movie also stars Vincent Cassel and Keira Knightley. This would have been a much better film had there been a more talented actress playing Sabina. Knightley is merely OK because she's not up to the challenging material.
"A Dangerous Method" is best when the passions both men have for their theories and for their sexual desires are front and center. You watch Mortensen and Fassbender with fascination and take delight in their intellectual combat.
"Man On A Ledge" is not worth your time. A New York City cop is sent to jail for a crime he didn't commit. He plots his revenge and escapes from jail. Soon he is standing on the 21st-floor ledge of a hotel threatening to jump.
This is connected to two subplots: a jewel heist and the activities of corrupt cops, but I won't tell you any more. The tedious film has numerous twists that cheat the audience.
Sam Worthington is so bland that as he stands on the ledge, you want him to jump so the movie will end.
The film also stars Ed Burns as a detective, Elizabeth Banks as a police shrink, Jamie Bell as a caper artist, and Ed Harris as an evil capitalist. All are good, but none of them can rescue the silly script from its banality.
There is one thing that occurs in the picture that I would like to see stopped.Ê May we please have a moratorium on movies with people on the sidewalk during police actions shouting "Attica, Attica, Attica"? It's an insult to the greatness of "Dog Day Afternoon."
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | Jan. 31 2012 |