OVP: Best Makeup (2005)
The Nominees Were...
Howard Berger & Tami Lane, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
David Leroy Anderson & Lance Anderson, Cinderella Man
Dave Elsey & Nikki Gooley, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
David Leroy Anderson & Lance Anderson, Cinderella Man
Dave Elsey & Nikki Gooley, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
My Thoughts: As always, we kick off this season with the Best Makeup category (and sincere hopes that ten weeks from now we'll be done), though the reasoning for that becomes less apparent the further back we go as Makeup in modern times has been the only category with three films, but that was certainly not in the case in 2005 (when a fourth of the categories we'll profile had only three films nominated). In fact, both of the categories we'll profile this week will only have three nominees (as we continue the same order we always do for these series).
We're going to start 2005 off with the only film of these three we won't eventually revisit, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, the sole live-action film in the entire Star Wars series that did not get cited for Best Visual Effects. The weird thing about it is that Revenge of the Sith has very little practical makeup effects. Most of the film is focused on visual effects, and certainly creatures like Jar Jar Binks or Yoda are entirely CGI at this point. This nomination probably came about due to the extensive deconstruction of Hayden Christensen's pretty boy face to become the scarred, helmeted Darth Vader, but this is only one effect and not one that we don't already have a template for in the Star Wars universe. It's shocking to see Christensen become scarred, but considering the truly iconic Vader is him with a helmet on, it's not really as impactful in the film as you'd hope, and a weird Oscar nomination.
Cinderella Man is in a similar situation, mostly because this is all stuff we've seen before. Boxing movies have a lot of makeup for the blood-and-bruises that come with the sweet science, but this is pretty routine. Considering Russell Crowe's at the reputation at the time, are we even confident he wore makeup or did he just get into a bar fight before filming (I kid, I kid...kind of)? The period hairstyling for Renee Zellweger is one-note, and as a result you don't leave this film impressed the makeup, though it is realistic and consistent for a film of that era.
The last film certainly has the most makeup, although that's not always an invitation for the best. In this case, though, Chronicles of Narnia recreates classic literary characters in a compelling way. You have impish Mr. Tumnus as played by James McAvoy coming alive in a way that feels obviously a bit silly, but not entirely ridiculous (you believe this man exists, albeit it in a fantastical universe), and Tilda Swinton's White Witch is glorious in all of her iterations. The makeup isn't breaking any new tread (a couple of years after Return of the King, this feels more like an homage than a reimagining), but it's creative & fitting for the universe we're watching unfold onscreen.
We're going to start 2005 off with the only film of these three we won't eventually revisit, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, the sole live-action film in the entire Star Wars series that did not get cited for Best Visual Effects. The weird thing about it is that Revenge of the Sith has very little practical makeup effects. Most of the film is focused on visual effects, and certainly creatures like Jar Jar Binks or Yoda are entirely CGI at this point. This nomination probably came about due to the extensive deconstruction of Hayden Christensen's pretty boy face to become the scarred, helmeted Darth Vader, but this is only one effect and not one that we don't already have a template for in the Star Wars universe. It's shocking to see Christensen become scarred, but considering the truly iconic Vader is him with a helmet on, it's not really as impactful in the film as you'd hope, and a weird Oscar nomination.
Cinderella Man is in a similar situation, mostly because this is all stuff we've seen before. Boxing movies have a lot of makeup for the blood-and-bruises that come with the sweet science, but this is pretty routine. Considering Russell Crowe's at the reputation at the time, are we even confident he wore makeup or did he just get into a bar fight before filming (I kid, I kid...kind of)? The period hairstyling for Renee Zellweger is one-note, and as a result you don't leave this film impressed the makeup, though it is realistic and consistent for a film of that era.
The last film certainly has the most makeup, although that's not always an invitation for the best. In this case, though, Chronicles of Narnia recreates classic literary characters in a compelling way. You have impish Mr. Tumnus as played by James McAvoy coming alive in a way that feels obviously a bit silly, but not entirely ridiculous (you believe this man exists, albeit it in a fantastical universe), and Tilda Swinton's White Witch is glorious in all of her iterations. The makeup isn't breaking any new tread (a couple of years after Return of the King, this feels more like an homage than a reimagining), but it's creative & fitting for the universe we're watching unfold onscreen.
Other Precursor Contenders: The BAFTA Awards were five-wide and added in "hairstyling" much earlier than Oscar, so they have just the victorious Chronicles from Oscar's lineup, and instead adds in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Memoirs of a Geisha, and Pride & Prejudice. The Saturn Awards always went with Chronicles (a note that the Saturn Awards generally will only honor SciFi, Fantasy, and Horror movies), with Land of the Dead, Sin City, Revenge of the Sith, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and King Kong among the vanquished nominees. The Makeup category did still have bake-offs in 2005, so we know that fourth place is either A History of Violence, The New World, Mrs. Henderson Presents, or The Libertine (a period film flop about the court of King Charles II that starred Johnny Depp & Samantha Morton). I honestly think it was The Libertine who was in fourth-the Makeup branch doesn't care about if a film bombs or not & Mrs. Henderson (arguably the biggest competition) was more hairstyling, which didn't get as much love before it was added to the category's title.
Films I Would Have Nominated: I definitely would have found room for The New World. I think the film and hairstyling in the movie is meticulous & exact, and actually adds something to the movie rather than just becoming a standard period piece. I also would've included Good Night, and Good Luck, as this film nails the styles of the 1950's beautifully (it's hard not to imagine that Mad Men borrowed from this elegance a little bit), and it's a good reminder that makeup doesn't need to just be about ugly villains and half-human creatures.
Oscar’s Choice: Like pretty much everyone else, Chronicles was viewed as an easy choice here, clobbering Cinderella Man.
My Choice: I'm also going with Chronicles-it's the only one that lives up to its position even if it'd get my bronze for the year over my "would have been nominateds." Behind it will be Revenge of the Sith and then Cinderella Man.
And those are my thoughts-what are yours? Is everyone kind of behind Chronicles getting this in a walk, or does someone want to defend one of the other two movies? Isn't it weird that bigger hits like King Kong and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire entirely missed the bakeoff? And has anyone actually seen The Libertine? Share your theories below!
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