Categories One-by-One: Makeup & Hairstyling

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Mister Tee
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Re: Categories One-by-One: Makeup & Hairstyling

Post by Mister Tee »

I've been unable to broach this category because Netflix has been keeping Wonder from me for weeks; I finally ended up doing pay-per-view...

...and quickly abandoned any hope of its upsetting Darkest Hour. Wonder is a kind of movie that's not very good but it's easy to understand why people like it: it works as aggressively as Eddie Redmayne in begging for love. And one way it does this is by making the Auggie character look not all that bad. The Eric Stolz make-up in Mask, for a similar affliction, was massive and grotesque; it WAS a chore to look at the guy, at first. Here, Tremblay of course doesn't look GOOD, but, honestly, I've seen people on the street who don't look appreciably better, and I don't assume they're genetically deformed. (Tremblay actually looks a bit like Mason Reese -- a name Magilla, at least, might recall.) It made no real sense for the kids to react with such outlandish horror to this face. But it had the effect of making the audience feel less uncomfortable -- which helps make the film poplar, but also, as I say, not good.

Which means the ten pounds of make-up ladled onto Gary Oldman every day will be an Oscar winner. I want to fine-tune a little what BJ said about Oldman's candidacy vis a vis Cotillard and Streep, lead acting contenders with make-up support. It is true that Oldman is viewed as much further ahead in his category than either of those two, but, paradoxically, I think each of the other two was viewed more favorably -- winning elite critics' awards (Streep NY, Cotillard LA) and Globes, thought to be running 2nd in their races purely due to quality of competition. Which is to say, I thought it made sense for them to be winning this prize, whereas I think a strong alternative (like, say, Mad Max: Fury Road) would snatch this away from Darkest Hour.
Reza
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Re: Categories One-by-One: Makeup & Hairstyling

Post by Reza »

"There’s clearly more going on under the skin, the hair and the powder than any average viewer can possibly take in"

This article explains why these three films were nominated in this category.

https://www.google.com.pk/amp/variety.c ... 97866/amp/
The Original BJ
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Categories One-by-One: Makeup & Hairstyling

Post by The Original BJ »

This one seems like kind of a gimme, but to give it its due...

The nominees:
Darkest Hour
Victoria & Abdul
Wonder

Victoria & Abdul definitely seems to be representing the "and Hairstyling" division of this category, because I can't remember much in the way of attention-grabbing makeup; this nomination is simply for general period refinery, which has occasionally gotten films recognized over the years. The thing is, these kind of nominees NEVER actually win -- case in point, the last film in which Judi Dench appeared as Queen Victoria, which probably ran dead last in that race as well.

Wonder's nomination, of course, is for the work on one actor alone, and Jacob Tremblay's facial deformities recall the previously Oscared makeup of Mask. In a field like last year's, it might have actually won, given that it was a sizable box office hit, but also not one that would have made voters feel gross for making it an Oscar-winning film (the way plenty probably did as they held their noses and picked Suicide Squad). But in this year, it's hard to see this movie taking its sole nomination to the finish line.

Because Darkest Hour is exactly the kind of movie that picks up this prize -- like La Vie en Rose and The Iron Lady, it's dazzlingly transformative work connected to an (in this case, presumptive) Oscar-winning lead performance. And unlike those other films, which were only minor Oscar players, Darkest Hour is a Best Picture nominee, with Oldman way more ahead in his race than Cotillard and Streep were in theirs. I would be floored if it lost.
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