For
a while there, it looked like the Academy might never get over its
obsession with Western European royalty in this category. A string of
consecutive winners made up of Marie Antoinette, Elizabeth:
The Golden Age, The Duchess, and The Young Victoria
certainly cast the discouraging impression that Oscar voters had lost
all their imagination when it comes to assessing the best dressed
film of the year. Perhaps those complaints actually reached enough
ears to initiate some kind of mini paradigm shift. Things have been
looking up in Best Costume Design for the past few years, with
the Academy branching out a bit in terms of the historical eras and
geographical locales that the winning costumes have evoked. And with
nary a stodgy royalty drama in sight, that trend looks to continue
this year.
Well,
I suppose you could claim that royalty comes into play in Maleficent,
but to lump the Disney fantasy's princess garb and fur-trimmed gowns
in with the frills and corsets of traditional royalty porn is a
stretch. Anna B. Sheppard drew inspiration from and elaborated on the
character designs from the original 1959 animated classic Sleeping
Beauty to yield a number of iconic looks. She is the only nominee
in this year's contest who hasn't previously won (despite
clothing Academy-friendly Holocaust dramas Schindler's List
and The Pianist), but sadly she'll have to keep waiting for
her first victory. This is the sole nomination for her film, whereas
each of her competitors come with additional citations, and better
reviews.
Joining
Sheppard on the fantastical end of the design spectrum is legendary
triple-Oscar-winner Colleen Atwood, back in the fray for the
eleventh time(!) for costuming the fairytale musical Into the
Woods. While one poorly judged Johnny Depp outfit ended
up being cause for some embarrassment, everything else she came
up with is creative and well appointed. If there wasn't a
Best-Picture-nominated craft behemoth in direct competition with her,
she may have been primed to win her fourth trophy. In fact, she still
might. It's worth noting that she once defeated The King's Speech
-- as beloved an Oscar film as there ever was -- with her
work in the critically reviled Alice in Wonderland.
Only a foolish
pundit would ever count her out completely.
That
said, the austere period trappings of The King's Speech don't
hold a candle to Milena Canonero's threads in The Grand
Budapest Hotel. Instantly memorable and wittily keyed into
every character detail (love Madame D's 18"-high toque), the costumes
miraculously straddle the divide between period accuracy and
colourful imagination. This may not be how 1930s Europeans look in
sepia photographs, but it is how they look through the
rose-
tinted glasses of Wes Anderson. The love and respect commanded
by his meticulously handcrafted aesthetic makes his movie
a possible sweeper in the design fields. The added clout
of being a Best Picture nominee (the only one in this
category) upgrades that 'possible' sweep into a 'probable' one.
Another
nominee that uses period specificity more as a loose guideline than
as a strict rule when it comes to defining its characters' attire is Inherent Vice. Mark Bridges has been one
of Paul Thomas Anderson's most faithful collaborators over the years,
so it's nice to see the pair of them nominated for the visually
distinctive 70s drug trip. Even detractors of the film (yours truly
included) are hard pressed to deny the vivid, character-serving
wonkiness of Bridges' wardrobe. Of course, the 70s are a time period
that have a hard enough time getting nominated here, let alone
winning, so a victory for the costumes' shaggy stylishness in
not in the cards (however inspired it would be).
But
in terms of sheer historical authenticity, Mr. Turner
is probably the most devoutly faithful to its period. Jacqueline
Durran's textured topcoats and battered bonnets feel like they could
be actual artifacts from a museum of 19th Century British fashions.
In tandem with Suzie Davies' equally believable production design,
they build a wholly convincing recreation of Turner's world and the
people who inhabited it. But even the most arduously researched
costumes struggle to amass a winning vote unless they have a little
more pizzazz to capture the voting membership's collective eye. You
could extend that logic to the entire film itself, which is easily
the most reserved of the lot, and with the clothes to match.
Will
win: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Runner-up:
Into the Woods
Should
win: Inherent Vice
Should
have been nominated: The Boxtrolls (but since that was
never going to happen, I'll add that The Theory of Everything
should have been given a closer look)
