A clip from Albert Nobbs has just arrived online (via The Playlist) and finally I can give you a look at Janet McTeer as Hubert Page a character that blows Glenn Close‘s titular Nobbs out of the water. And please note I’m referring to the character here, not the performance. Close does what she can with Nobbs, but it’s a character that’s of little interest to the audience, especially when compared to the rough and weathered Page.
Here’s how I put it in my review from the Toronto Film Festival:
The only takeaway is a supporting performance by Janet McTeer as Hubert Page, a woman also pretending to be a man, for reasons I won’t spoil here, but the fact McTeer has a character to play rather than a passive and quiet empty shell such as Albert helps out a lot. There’s reason to watch when Hubert is on screen, I found myself finally leaning in with interest and kept hoping she would return every time her moment ended. To be honest, why this film focuses on Albert instead of Hubert is an apt question we may never know the answer to.
However, the problem with this clip is that it speaks to my description above where I say she’s “a woman also pretending to be a man, for reasons I won’t spoil here.” This clip spoils a bit of her character’s back-story, which is really best left to learning while watching the film. Of course, I can’t stop you from watching the clip below, rather than waiting until this December when Roadside will be releasing the film into theaters, but consider yourself warned.
