Every movie, no matter how realistic or fantastic, creates its own framework of reality within the confines of its story. So, when we watch the movie, and thus, enter the world of the film, we are asked to play along and, for a short time, believe what we see. We often hear the term "suspension of disbelief" used when genre films are discussed, as we are ask to accept that a man can fly or that aliens visit Earth. This idea can spill over into dramas as well and I kept thinking about this while watching Albert Nobbs, a particularly odd and sad little movie.

Albert Nobbs is set in Dublin around the turn of the 20th century. Albert (Glenn Close) works as the head of staff in Morrison's Hotel (not to be confused with Morrison Hotel by The Doors). The establishment attracts wealthy travelers and the hard-working Albert is tipped rather handsomely. Albert is also respected by the staff and they understand that this odd little man likes his privacy...because he is actually a woman. Albert wears a corset and bandages under his clothes to maintain the illusion. One day, the hotel's owner, Mrs. Baker (Pauline Collins), informs Albert that he will be sharing his room with Mr. Page (Janet McTeer), a painter, for the night. Of course, Albert is terrified by this, as he doesn't want his secret to be known. Unfortunately, Mr. Page brings fleas with him and in an effort to be free of the bugs, Albert's corset slips and Mr. Page discover's Albert's secret. But, Mr. Page has a secret of his own. Meanwhile, Albert has been saving his earning to fulfill his dreams of opening a tobacco shop. He also decides that he should marry a woman to complete the illusion. So, he begins to court Helen (Mia Wasikowska), one of the hotel maids. However, Helen is attracted to Joe (Aaron Johnson), a young man Mrs. Baker hired to fix the boiler. Joe, a conniver, urges Helen to go out with Albert, in order to milk him for elaborate gifts. Will Albert ever find happiness?

I must admit that I was thrown by Albert Nobbs at first. Again, movies ask us to suspend our disbelief and in this film, we are asked to believe that no one suspects that Albert is a woman. (Of course, Glenn Close actually looks just like Robin Williams in this film, but that's beside the point.) Apparently, no one even suspects and I found that really hard to believe. Perhaps people weren't as observant at that time as they are today. People back then were doing with a lot of problems and perhaps the true gender of their co-workers was low on their list of priorities.

Once I was able to move past this point, I found Albert Nobbs to be an interesting, if somewhat uneven film. As evidenced by the above synopsis, there is a lot happening in this movie. First of all, we have Albert, his secret, and the lengths he goes to in order to keep his secret safe. Next, we have the understand which Albert and Mr. Page come to. Then, the story focuses on Albert's courtship of Helen and the relationship between Helen and Joe. The movie does a fairly good job of weaving these stories together, and I'm happy to report that the third act contains a very good twist which not only makes the movie incredibly sad, but also knocks it off course from the very predictable route which it had been taking.

Throughout all of these storylines, the movie explores Albert's life and his unique view of the world. It becomes evident that Albert is a simple man, in both the sense that he isn't overly educated and he only wants the simple satisfactions from life. But, he is also quietly determined to get what he wants. Again, he diligently saves his money to pursue his dream of having a shop. This idea consumes Albert. Then, he decides that he should marry. It's at this point that we realize that Albert has lead a double-life for so long that he's lost touch with reality. He's convinced that he can woo Helen and they will marry and Helen will be OK with the fact that he's a woman, which, of course, sounds mad to us.

Albert Nobbs is an interesting movie in the sense that on the surface it looks like a typical historical drama, but the movie is infused with suspense. Will Albert get caught? Will Mr. Page report him? Will the greedy Joe do something bad to Albert? These questions add a sense of tension to a film which Director Rodrigo Garcia has given a leisurely pace. The movie does drag at times, and the suspense gives way to a feeling of tedium at times, but the twist really adds a punch to the story. In addition, this is a depressing movie. Every character is tragically flawed, and Albert's life story alone is enough to have viewers reaching for the tissues. This actually hurts the movie, as it takes on a bleak tone. Still, Glenn Close leads a great cast, and the look of the film is top-notch. Cross-dressing movies are usually funny, but Albert Nobbs really bucks this trend. The end-result is a solid drama, which offers a variety of emotions, but often wallows in them a little too much for its own good.

Albert Nobbs may have set a record for using the word "tobbaconist" in a film on Blu-ray Disc courtesy of Lionsgate. The film has been letterboxed at 2.35:1 and the Disc contains an AVC 1080p HD transfer which runs at an average of 25 Mbps. The image is very sharp and clear, showing only trace amounts of grain and no defects from the source materials. Garcia has opted to reflect the film's time period with a look that offers a color scheme which skews towards blacks, whites and browns. This means that we don't get many bold colors here. Still, the image is never overly dark or bright. The level of detail is very good, as we can easily make out the textures on objects. The depth to the image is good as well. The Disc carries a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which runs at 48 kHz and an average of 1.7 Mbps. The track provides clear dialogue and sound effects. Being a historical drama, we aren't treated to an abundance of dynamic audio effects here. The scenes in which Albert walks the city or the dining room scenes in the hotel do offer effective stereo and surround effects which give us an impression for what is going on around the characters. The film's score sounds very good.

The Albert Nobbs Blu-ray Disc contains only a few extras. We begin with an AUDIO COMMENTARY from Glenn Close and Director Rodrigo Garcia. The Disc contains three DELETED SCENES which run about 8 minutes. Interestingly, two of these scenes show moments between Albert and Joe. I wonder if they were cut because they cast Joe in a better light. The final extra is a THEATRICAL TRAILER for the film.