Hollywood actor Glenn Close has said she is delighted to be able to start filming The Singular Life of Albert Nobbs in Dublin on Monday after a wait of 15 years.
The film, based on the short story by Irish novelist George Moore, stars Close in the title role as an Englishman woman who spends many years disguised as a male butler. It is set in Victorian Dublin in 1898
Speaking at a press conference this morning to announce the start of filming, Close (63) said the story was “so original and different” and she had been actively trying to make it for 10 years. It was a film with a “huge emotional wallop”.
Close, whose most famous role was in Fatal Attraction, first starred in a successful adaptation for theatre off Broadway in 1982.
Close has written the screenplay for the film in collaboration with novelist and former Irish Times literary editor John Banville.
The film has a high-profile cast which includes Pauline Collins, Aaron Johnson (Nowhere Boy and Kick-Ass), Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland), along with Irish actors Jonathan Rhys-Myers, Brenda Fricker and Maria Doyle-Kennedy.
It is being directed by Rodriga Garcia, son of the novelist Gabriel García Márquez. The budget for the film will be €6 million and it will be partially financed by the Irish Film Board.
“The definition of a truly independent film is that they almost don’t get made,” Close said.
Close said the role of the film board was critical in getting the film as they had also considered locations in Hungary, the old East Germany, Montreal and New York.
“Ten years ago I was here hoping to make the film. I feel it is a really wonderful partnership and I’m very excited," she explained," she said. “Never in my wildest dreams did I think we would have this extraordinary group of talent both in front of and behind the camera.”
Banville said he enjoyed the collaborative process and often wished he was a Hollywood screenwriter in the days of the studio system where he had produce two scenes before lunch every day. He described the film as “peculiarly relevant” to the present day with its emphasis on gender politics. “It’s a wonderful story and I loved doing it.”
Director Garcia said it was rare to read a script that is good. "It is the kind of script that is moving and funny with a story that is compelling," he said. "It is something about people’s interior lives and their longing. It is rare for a script to bring together so many interesting themes.”
The film will be shot over 34 days in Dublin - with a 10 day break for Christmas. Shooting will be completed in early February but there is no release date yet.
