Skip to main content

2021 Oscar Nominees - Review

 It's time for my annual Oscar review of the nominees for Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling. 


EMMA (Amazon)

Marese Langan, Laura Allen and Claudia Stolze
(photo from Google Search)

This elegant yet witty film is gorgeous in its hair, makeup and costuming (also nominated). The makeup is clean and simple, as appropriate for the early 1800's. Mutton chops and ringlets are why this film was nominated, as they are in abundance and the delicate makeup and soft tendrils of hair on Emma exude the innocence we are supposed to believe of her character.  It's a lovely updated version, making this the twelve adaptation of the film.  Check out Vogue's article for more insight into the looks of the film. 

HILLBILLY ELEGY (NetFlix)

Eryn Krueger Mekash, Matthew Mungle and Patricia Dehaney
My favorite kind of makeup is character makeup. Character makeup is subtle but incredibly transformative. The actor under the makeup is familiar but perhaps you can't quite put your finger on who it is because the makeup just transforms them enough to look different.

(photo from Netflix.com)

This is exactly what Krueger, Mungle and Dehaney did with this film. Being a 90's child, the looks in the flashbacks brought back memories of growing up grunge. It's often said that hair and makeup compliments costuming but I feel like this is the opposite. The costuming compliments the hair and makeup. Take one away and it's out of place. I encourage you to check this film out, as the story itself is dynamic and just modern enough to really make you think about your own past.

MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM (NetFlix)

Sergio Lopez-Rivera, Mia Neal and Jamika Wilson
A powerful commentary on inequality that still resonates today, the visual recreating of 1927 hair and makeup are highly effective in their storytelling.  Viola Davis's recreation of Ma included gold teeth, greasy looking skin and a padded out undergarment.  The 1920's makeup isn't pristine or flawless, but gritty and purposely struggling to stay in place in the melting summer heat.  The men's hair has such distinct side-parts one would only think of that time period for them. This movie combines my love of theatre (though admittedly I've never seen the play) and 1920's (my favorite decade), making it entertaining story wise and through its production value.
(photo from Netflix.com)


MANK (NetFlix)

Gigi Williams, Kimberley Spiteri and Colleen LaBaff
While the production design, costuming, hair and makeup were INCREDIBLE, I found this story slow and un-engaging. Nevertheless, the dynamic of having an end product be black and white would challenge any makeup artist. Why? There needs to be enough of a contrast of color in reality to read in the finished product, which means constantly questioning lighting and color density.   The most important part of the looks are actually the porcelain looking skin on the female characters and the continuous sweating on Mank when he's drunk/hungover.
(photos from Netflix's Twitter account)

PINOCCHIO (Amazon)

Mark Coulier, Dalia Colli and Francesco Pegoretti
If this film doesn't convince you that practical effects are SO MUCH BETTER than CGI, I don't know what will. Not a single visual effect was used on these fantastical characters, with Mark having designed prosthetic looks for 25 characters and every "human" had a wig, half wig, or toupe from the hair department. What makes this Oscar worthy is that the HMU team helps remind you that the story shows children have wild imaginations and ultimately the love of a father is what turns a wooden puppet into a boy. Check out their interview with Awards Daily it's enlightening and fun.
(photo from IMATS IG page)


 

Prediction: Pinocchio wins but Hillbilly Elegy has a potential to rise up and take the award.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2021 Relaunch

 I started the beginning of 2020 blogging with the intention to educate, enlighten, and entertain our audience but as you know, 2020 became quite a dismal year.  Much of my creativity went deep underground, including the desire to blog, do any makeup, paint, etc.  It felt hopeless. The Makeup Curio was closed and not providing services for almost 5 months last year.  I lost the biggest show season yet - 10 school productions.  Our summer line up of 4 camps went dark. I was selected to be an educator at the 2020 International Thespian Festival in Indiana, a week long event bringing thousands of students together to revel in all things theater.  I was looking forwarding to that experience but, as you can guess, it never happened.  Fortunately I was still asked to produce a virtual workshop.  And of course, our annual SFX Makeup Competition became an afterthought. Beauty clients became less and less...and less.  I am forever grateful for my devoted regulars and it was a hard decision to
Post a Comment
Read more

Theatrical Makeup Intensive: Who, What, When, Where, And Why

The Theatrical Makeup Intensive is a two day intensive modeled after a college level course.  Here's how it came to existence. The Who: I often say this course is for every actor, technician and makeup lover. It's for teens who want to pursue makeup as a career. It's for the college student who is pursuing theater as a career. It's for adult community theater actors who want to level up their professionalism. It's for the costumer who will be having to design makeup at a small regional theater with no training. And its for a professional beauty makeup artist who loves effects and wants to introduce "glam-gore" to their portfolio. The What: While I fine tuned the course structure, kit, and handouts during shutdown, the Theatrical Makeup Intensive was actually created in 2019, with one class executed in person in Feb 2020. A hands-on course, it teaches those enrolled how to do essential theatrical makeup techniques. It has always been important to me to inco
Post a Comment
Read more

We're All In This Together

Did you know small business owners don’t qualify to collect Unemployment Insurance? It’s been a couple of weeks full of confusion and anxiety as we struggle with mandates forcing us to close our doors for an unknown amount of time. Just a few days ago, at the request of the Governor, The Makeup Curio, along with all other hair salons, barber shops, nail salons, and tattoo/piercing parlors were shut down. As of 8PM Sunday night, ALL “non-essential” businesses had to close. This is incredibly scary, but absolutely necessary. As we’ve seen in other parts of the world, this novel coronavirus has the potential to overwhelm our healthcare system and kill a frighteningly large number of people if we are not careful. And you know what? As difficult as it m ay be to face the loss of business in the short term, we accept these regulations in stride, because if anyone understands community responsibility, it is small business owners. That’s why we’re here in the first place! And we are still h
Post a Comment
Read more