OVP: Best Costume (2000)
The Nominees Were...
Tim Yip, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Rita Ryack, Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Janty Yates, Gladiator
Anthony Powell, 102 Dalmatians
Jacqueline West, Quills
My Thoughts: I spoke yesterday about how a lot of the mystery got leaked out when we did five-wide Best Picture nominees, and this is a really good example of that. We only have two Best Picture nominees, but more importantly-the three films that missed here are here because they have centerpiece costumes, not because they were clear threats for Slots 6-10 (I honestly don't think any of them would've made it, even if one has a lead acting nomination). The unfortunate thing here is, though, that these costumes aren't all that good.
Like Quills is just your standard-issue corset porn, in this case the term being both figurative and literal given it's about the Marquis de Sade. The movie's designs are generally not that interesting. Yes, they all look good (this isn't a case where Jacqueline West, one of my favorites, is phoning it in), but it's rather standard...save for the amazing outfit that Geoffrey Rush wears with his novel. There's a scene where Rush, bereft of paper, actually writes a novel on his clothing, and it's an amazing touch (and incorporates the costumes into the plot). More ingenuity like that, and it'd have been far more competitive for a win.
Gladiator is another film where these are works you'd see in a lot of Charlton Heston movies, not striking out enough on its own. The best look in the film is Joaquin Phoenix's emperor costume. Here, Yates gives us something slightly too large, slightly off-balance to the way that Crowe seems to have grown into his costumes (that touch of "which one is ready to be a leader?"), while also making the crown feel like the most important part of Phoenix's ensemble (to him, this is just as much about perception as it is about power). But the rest of the movie lacks this introspection, and this feels sometimes like a "most" nomination rather than a "best."
That's certainly the case for the Grinch. I talked about how the Makeup nomination left me conflicted-you have this marvelous centerpiece in the title character, and the rest feels gaudy & ridiculous. That's not the case for the costumes. The bulk of the outfits in this film are rather routine, to be honest-you could find most of them at a mall Santa's workshop, either on the dais or in the line. The ones that stand out are the overtly sexual ones worn by Christine Baranski, which are something, but feel more like punchlines to feed to the adults in the audience rather than character-building. This is a pass for me.
102 Dalmatians is still, years later, such a weird nomination. The film was a critical disaster, and at the time was considered a box office bomb (it says something about the current state of the movies that a film making $183 million on a $85 million budget would be called a hit today). The costumes are incorporated into the tale better than the Grinch, even if they're just as gaudy. I don't mind these in isolation-there are looks, particularly Close in a crimson-red ballgown, that feel decadent...but they don't work as a whole. There's too much, too many plays on the same theme. 22 years later, Cruella would prove you can do a spin on this while still one-upping yourself, but here...it feels a bit gauche, and not funny enough.
All of this leads to Crouching Tiger, which I'm just going to own is going to win for me here, because how can it not be? The looks from Tim Yip are extraordinary. Gorgeous designs, especially those worn by Zhang Ziyi, elevated throughout the film as we also see white battle robes that feel iconic without taking away from the stunt work. I particularly loved the splashes of florals that are incorporated throughout into Ziyi's costumes, both in her hair and incorporated into almost every outfit that she wears in the picture.
Other Precursor Contenders: The Costume Designer's Guild was only splitting its nominees between Contemporary and Period/Fantasy in 2000, and they had uneven numbers of nominations so we're only getting nine citations here. For Period/Fantasy, they went with The Grinch as the winner, besting Almost Famous, Chocolat, & Quills, while the Contemporary designs went with Erin Brockovich against Charlie's Angels, High Fidelity, Traffic, & X-Men (how X-Men isn't fantasy is a genuine question to me...does the CDG know something we don't?). BAFTA went with Crouching Tiger as their victor, besting Chocolat, Gladiator, The House of Mirth, & Quills. I'm going to guess for the sixth place it was either Chocolat, which dominated precursors, or Vatel, which got an Art Direction citation (the only film not to also get in for Costume), which in those days was a pretty good indicator that you were getting into Costume (their voters used to be in the same branch). Of the two...probably Chocolat? It had to be close in at least one tech category.
Films I Would Have Nominated: I was a bit mean to films going for comedic effect with their costumes, so I'll mention two contemporary designs that worked for me in 2000-Charlie's Angels and Miss Congeniality. In both cases, the costumes look really good AND are used to great comedic effect, spoofing the original TV series and beauty pageant fashion, respectively. If you're going to do tongue-in-cheek, the costumes need to add to the joke, and both of these did (also, recognize contemporary fashion!).
Oscar's Choice: Oscar probably came down to Crouching Tiger and Gladiator (which is likely what the Best Picture field also finalized on), and like the top prize, they picked Gladiator.
My Choice: It's Crouching Tiger, no question. I'll totally confess now (not for the last time) that not only do I not really think a lot of some of the fields Oscar pulled together in 2000, but this was a weaker-than-usual year overall for movies (it happens-axiomatically if there are good years there have to be bad years). I could've come up with a better field than Oscar (and in the next few weeks will, when we do the My Ballot), but I don't fault them for this list as it's more boring than outright awful. Following Crouching Tiger is Quills, Gladiator, 102 Dalmatians, and then the Grinch.
And now, it's your turn. Are you staying with Oscar's choice of battle armor, or do you want to go fight in the trees with me? How exactly did 102 Dalmatians get into this race (still so weird)? And was it Chocolat or Vatel just missing here? Share your thoughts below!
2 comments:
I agree with you that, of the nominees, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" should have won the Oscar. I'm surprised more attention wasn't paid to the costumes in "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" given its period setting and pedigree. My personal favorite costumes of the year are from "Best in Show," as I've always felt they go a long way in subtly defining each character. Oh, and mark me down as someone who hated "The Grinch" - I think everything about that movie is ugly!
I agree on O Brother Where Art Thou-it's an odd miss in retrospect. It's kind of proof that with the Academy once you become a favorite, you stay forever. Mary Zophres spent years doing inventive work, primarily for the Coen Brothers, and never made it until True Grit, and then quickly became an Academy mainstay.
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