OVP: Best Costume (1999)
The Nominees Were...
Jenny Beavan, Anna and the King
Colleen Atwood, Sleepy Hollow
Ann Roth & Gary Jones, The Talented Mr. Ripley
Milena Canonero, Titus
Lindy Hemming, Topsy-Turvy
My Thoughts: The Costume and Art Direction branches used to be combined at the Oscars, and as a result, they tended to have a lot of the same tastes. To a degree this makes sense. While these are very different art forms, they also tend to compliment each other, and so if one of them is good, the other should follow by proxy. Four of these films we'll get to later this week (the article's not written yet, so putting that into the universe now in hopes that I finish it on my day off on Wednesday) with Art Direction, and in all four cases, my verdict between then and now is going to be relatively similar, so feel like you've been forewarned.
The one film that isn't going to show up for Art Direction is Titus, getting its sole Academy recognition. Julie Taymor's movies for years had the distinction of always getting at least one Oscar nomination (The Glorias came close but screwed that streak up), and here it was for the duds being worn by Anthony Hopkins and company. I liked Titus (better than I usually do Taymor's movies), but the costumes didn't work for me. Canonero uses too many modern touches that don't really add from the story, something that in general Taymor's doing in this picture, and it yields anachronisms that serve to distract more than enhance the tale in front of us. This is flashy (and Canonero is an Oscar favorite), so I get it, but I can't subscribe to this nomination.
The same can be said for Anna and the King. With remakes, I want to see something special happening on the screen. This is the third live-action version of this movie from a major studio, but it doesn't give us much newness. The dresses worn by Deborah Kerr were more stylish and memorable, and Foster's versions feel more focused on realism than a sense of wonder (which makes sense...this one isn't a musical). But I don't go to the movies for realism, and I want a better sense of opulence as I'm wandering through this picture, which I don't get, and lord knows this relatively dull affair needs some life.
Topsy-Turvy gets us much closer to that sense of wonder, while also keeping realism involved. The gorgeous recreations in this movie from The Mikado are delicious, giving us rich color while also feeling like they really were pulled from the backstage closet of a London stage. Think of Shirley Henderson in that stuffed-to-the-gills wedding dress...tacky but also some sense of glamour to go with it, exactly what you'd want from something like this. Yes, there are gowns that feel more like an excuse to shovel décolletage into the viewers eyes (which is questionably anachronistic), but this is period costuming with character, which I can get onboard with.
The same can be said for Colleen Atwood's work in Sleepy Hollow. Not as discussed today as some of Johnny Depp's other collaborations with Tim Burton, this movie is one of my favorites they've done together, and a lot of that comes from the look of the picture. Atwood goes overboard with design details. My favorite is the famous dress worn by Christina Ricci, black-and-white striped with a collar positioned so it almost looks like she's hypnotizing Depp (and the audience). Add in some of the lusty looks worn by Miranda Richardson, and you've got beautiful costumes that are also aiding the plot of the picture.
There's always one film nominated by Oscar where we turn our gaze away from the beautiful actresses on-display and see some of the gorgeous men get to wear their outfits, and while Cate Blanchett & Gwyneth Paltrow have fine looks in The Talented Mr. Ripley, this nomination is for the mirroring duds of Jude Law & Matt Damon. It helps that Law looks like he was drawn from Greek marble he's so beautiful in this picture, but putting him effortlessly in period costumes, like his short-sleeved white shirt with grey vertical stripes, or Matt Damon in a neon yellow swimsuit to show him finally starting to standout. These are the sorts of great touches that I want in costume work (and also, everyone looks scrumptious).
Other Precursor Contenders: The Costume Designer's Guild split its nominations between Contemporary and Period/Fantasy in 1999, and only did four nominations each this year, so we've got eight movies to list. Contemporary went to American Beauty against Cookie's Fortune, Eyes Wide Shut, and Fight Club while Period/Fantasy went to Sleepy Hollow atop Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, The Matrix, and The Talented Mr. Ripley. The BAFTA went to Sleepy Hollow as well, here against The End of the Affair, An Ideal Husband, & Tea with Mussolini. In sixth, I think there's a decent case to be made for The Cider House Rules, the one film cited for Art Direction but not this, but I also think that Star Wars: The Phantom Menace or The Matrix could've been in the hunt, given those were iconic looks even in 1999.
Films I Would Have Nominated: I for sure would've picked The Matrix. The leather dusters here became the defining costuming choice of 1999, but I liked that there were spins on this design throughout the picture, giving us character detailing on a signature look, which is hard to do.
Oscar's Choice: Precursors pointed to Sleepy Hollow, and at the time Anna and the King had a lot of buzz, but it ended up being Topsy-Turvy that won in the end, a bit of an upset for this category.
My Choice: I'm going to pick Sleepy Hollow here, and pat myself on the back while doing it. One of the defining traits of the OVP is that I decide each race in a vacuum, so you don't win based on being "overdue" or other outside factors, but just on the work of the five choices Oscar picked that are in front of me. I was getting a little worried knowing that Colleen Atwood, despite nine previous nominations we've discussed, had yet to actually win. While you'll have to wait a few weeks to see if she gets her first My Ballot gold medal, the system provided me an out here as she's definitely the best of these five nominees, and so she won't leave without at least one OVP statue from this experiment. Behind her (in order) are The Talented Mr. Ripley, Topsy-Turvy, Titus, and Anna and the King.
And now, it's your turn. Are you rummaging through the looks of Gilbert & Sullivan, or do you want to join me in Ichabod Crane's closet? What is your favorite of Colleen Atwood's many film designs? And was it Star Wars, The Matrix, or The Cider House Rules in sixth place? Share your thoughts below!
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