OVP: Best Makeup & Hairstyling (2018)
The Nominees Were...
Goran Lundstrom & Pamela Goldammer, Border
Jenny Shircore, Marc Pilcher, & Jessica Brooks, Mary Queen of Scots
Greg Cannom, Kate Biscoe, & Patricia Dehaney, Vice
My Thoughts: We will begin our look at the 2018 Oscars with the Best Makeup category, and in the last year where the reason we started here is apparent. After 2018, the Makeup (and Hairstyling, at this point, it's worth remembering) category would be five-wide, but in 2018 it was still in just going for three citations, two of which were for major star pieces, and the third was continuing the recent trend of one random Swedish film getting the nomination. It's worth remembering with all of the tech categories if you're new here (we've had an increase in readership, so welcome!), that we only judge them based solely on the film at-hand, and not the quality of the actual film.
This is worth repeating because I honestly didn't like any of these movies all that much, but all three do a solid job with their makeup. Vice, for example, does a terrific job in recreating the looks of several iconic figures in the Republican Party. Christian Bale is an actor known for immersing himself in a role (frequently too much, as we've seen with his method acting gone bad), and he totally transforms into Dick Cheney in this part, a believable use of prosthetics. I will say that while I'm not yet docking points for this, I am joining the chorus of film fans who are uncomfortable with having handsome, Grade-A movie stars taking on parts that require this level of transformation (taking parts from actors who actually look like Cheney in real life when they could get any part they wanted), it's definitely on my mind here. It's also worth noting that Cheney's recreation is better than anyone else in the cast of myriad famous actors (Adams' look as Lynne Cheney isn't quite as convincing), but overall this is (by far) the most earned of Vice's nominations.
Mary Queen of Scots also has a beautiful actor being transformed into a less-comely historical figure, though unlike with Cheney I don't know that there are a lot of actors who could convincingly pull off Queen Elizabeth I without help. Robbie's transformation is impressive, particularly the work they do to show some of her skin scarring, but it's all stuff we've seen before. At this point the story of the two queen cousins is so well-known on screen that I don't see anything new, and in some ways this borders on the makeup work you'd expect from a sequel. As this is a two-part category at this point in Oscar's history, I must note that Mary has easily the best "hairstyling," which it deserves to get credit for, but the makeup is serviceable.
The final nominee is Border, the only sole nominee in this field. Border's makeup effects are extraordinary, transforming two of the lead characters into almost neanderthal-like creatures. The makeup is at once jarring and in service to the film. Border is a movie I struggled with in terms of its plotting (too subtle in parts, too outlandish in others), but the makeup work is dynamite-it never feels like it's too much or like it's overwhelming the screen, and it reads as naturalistic. A weird, unforgettable film, but one that totally warranted its inclusion in this category.
Other Precursor Contenders: BAFTA went five-wide long before Oscar did, and so we have The Favourite winning, here over Bohemian Rhapsody, Mary Queen of Scots, Stan & Ollie, and Vice. The Saturn Awards (which focus primarily on Horror, SciFi, & Fantasy pictures) went with Avengers: Endgame as their winner over Pet Sematary, The Dead Don't Die, Destroyer, Suspiria, Dragged Across Concrete, and Overlord. The Oscars does do a bakeoff for Best Makeup, so we know that at least one of Black Panther, Bohemian Rhapsody, Stan & Ollie and Suspiria was in fourth. My money is on Stan & Ollie, which I know is a weird choice given the first two were Best Picture nominees, but this category is less-beholden to be part of a sweep, and Stan & Ollie is about Old Hollywood, always catnip to the Oscars.
Films I Would Have Nominated: I have every intention of watching Stan & Ollie in the coming weeks (I haven't seen it yet, and Netflix just shipped it to me), so that might be added in a few days, but I honestly am flummoxed how The Favourite missed here. I know it wasn't shortlisted, but the hairstyling and character-specific makeup work is leaps ahead of Mary Queen of Scots, and far more fun.
Oscar’s Choice: One of the easier places to reward Vice, and it'd turn out the only place Oscar wanted to as it gets its sole trophy.
My Choice: No contest-this is Border as it's in a class by itself compared to the other two. Between Mary and Vice if this was just based on makeup, I'd go for the latter, but since hairstyling is now in the title I'm going to give the two queens the silver as it's most successful in that avenue.
And those are my thoughts-what are yours? Are you over in Vice country or would you like to join me championing on the Border? Do you feel like there's any new take on the Elizabethan drama we haven't heard at this point? And why'd they skip Favourite in a field that would've been perfect for it? Share your theories below!
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