Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on January 2013

Albert Nobbs is an ideal butler/waiter at an upscale but undistinguished hotel in 1898 Dublin. He performs his duties superbly and otherwise blends in to the background; no one gives him a second look. Which is good, for this diminutive man is really a woman, so disguised to escape male violence and improve job opportunities. The endlessly resourceful Glenn Close garnered a sixth Oscar nom for the role, and never makes a false step. But it is Janet McTeer’s exuberant, scene-stealing performance that elevates this sensitive, sweet, sad and otherwise straightforward study of repression to a must-see.