Albert Nobbs (2011) review

A female butler disguised as a man (Glenn Close) lives in constant fear of having her true gender "discovered" - because jobs are tough to keep and hold in 19th century Ireland - and dreams of opening a tobacconist shop with the money she's been saving. Intriguing study of gender politics and concealed sexual identity certainly has timing going for it, with President Obama basically endorsing gay marriage in 2012 (though we'll see how far that goes) and the movie suggesting that a life in hiding is no life at all. The pacing is a tad leisurely but the performances are dominant, particularly Close and Janet McTeer as a woman-in-disguise that Nobbs identifies with quite strongly.