Albert Nobbs [2011]

Unintentionally funny, scarcely involving and oddly uneventful, Albert Nobbs is Glenn Close’s 30-year-in-the-making passion project. Directed by Rodrigo García (who made a far superior film with last year’s Mother & Child), Nobbs does not stand on its own as a worthwhile motion picture, but it’s worth watching for its strong female cast. Close is very good as a suppressed, paranoid personality; as a man, not so much. Like Cate Blanchett before her, who convincingly played a man in 2007’s I’m not There (and a very famous one at that), Janet McTeer is the true star of this film. Mia Wasikowska, after bursting onto the scene with outstanding performances in movies like The Kids Are All Right and Jane Eyre proves she is one of the finest actresses of her generation.