GoldDerby: “Actor X loses him/herself in a role.” “So-and-so’s performance was transformative.” “They literally become this real-life person.”
We’ve heard statements along those lines so many times over the years when critics and movie journalists are talking about an actor’s performance in a biopic. Usually, that praise is well-earned, but rarely is the work by the makeup artists and hair stylists adequately acknowledged, especially the prosthetics makeup artists who need to do a lot of the often-overlooked work to alter an actor’s features to be more in line with the real-life people they’re portraying.
5 comments:
This brings up a very interesting point that I don’t think about terribly often. I have never personally worked in either the makeup or hair styling departments but one of my close friends works in makeup prosthetics so I know how much skill it takes and just how long it takes to get just right. Monster makeup is easy as it is all made up but makeup to emulate a real life person who lived and breathed is so much more difficult. Especially with the huge influx of biopics that are flooding the movie market lately, these professionals should really be recognized both internally and externally of the industry. I do believe strongly that awards should not determine any designer or artist’s worth but it is still very nice to be recognized nationally through something like an Oscar. Biopics’ quality is often heavily influenced by how close the actor in question resembles the person they are supposed to be embodying which shows just how much responsibility and talent these artists have.
I have always been terrible at watching movies. I find myself always in the same situation, someone brings up a classic, I’ve never seen it, boom shocked reaction. Like clockwork. I am getting better at it because my very caring friends force me to watch all the movies they think are important. The reason I bring this up is that I only watched one of the movies on the nomination list and it was Spiderman No Way Home… which I saw… with my best friend and likely wouldn’t have gone on my own. All of this to say, if anyone has any movie recommendations please send them my way. I have a lot of catching up to do. I will say that biopics are one of my favorite genres because they’re knowledge and art at the same time which is really cool. It is always very impressive to see how an actor everyone knows and loves becomes someone completely different. Obviously, this is in part due to the actor but there is a large chunk of the credit due to the make-up artists and the work they do is truly incredible.
I saw both House of Gucci and The Eyes of Tammy Faye and both films really impressed me with their hair and makeup. Jessica Chastain’s prosthetics enhanced her performance without weighing down her expressions, and she did an amazing job acting through the intense makeup, as did Andrew Garfield. While Jared Leto’s prosthetics were also very well done, I wouldn’t pick it as the winner because the Tammy Faye prosthetics are present up-close throughout the entire movie, and are essential to conveying the story. I did love Lady Gaga’s hair and makeup throughout House of Gucci, as it is used very carefully to help track both chronological time in the story and conveys her emotional state at different points; we see her begin with a short, chic haircut and very natural makeup, slowly evolving into heavily styled hair and intense, dark makeup the magnifies her intensity and hunger for material possessions & wealth.
As a long-term Oscars watcher, I can confirm hair and makeup usually get the least amount of recognition even when costuming would not work if it weren’t for their work. I do think that in recent years they have gained some more recognition for their work tho, especially as prosthetics have improved and thus the ambition of their projects. I have seen both House of Gucci and the Eyes of Tammy Faye but I cannot predict which one would take the hypothetical Oscar home. Both are more than likely going to be nominated. I do prefer the work in Tammy Faye, but that is simply my opinion. Being someone who has seen almost all of the movies that have rolled in and out of movie theaters, the progress in technology and tools to modify actors has been impressive, which is something I wish the article talked a bit more about.
Edward Douglas writes that, in reference to physically transforming actors into real life figures for biopics, “rarely is the work by the makeup artists and hair stylists adequately acknowledged.” This seems directly contradictory to the evidence that Douglas provides, where he writes that “In the past few years we’ve seen many makeup nominees come from biographical movies.” Is being nominated for and winning an Oscar not the highest possible acknowledgement possible? In fact, most of the evidence given points that makeup artists for biopics are actually overly acknowledged, and the Oscars give them more awards on average compared to non-biopic films. While it’s much flashier to be able to see a side by side comparison with the real life person, giving the audience a tangible measure of “success”, these artists are using the same techniques in non-biopics. Often, these transformations are more under-appreciated compared to those that are done for bio pics.
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