One Category at a Time: Makeup

By the time it gets boiled down to three nominees, this race is usually a pretty easy one to call, but I'm having unspeakable difficulty in deciding upon a winner this year. It's essentially a two-horse race between extensive fantasy work on a successful, beloved, but decidedly familiar series, and superior but subtler work on a reviled film with a high profile acting nomination. But let's begin with the nominee bringing up the rear.

My Awards nominations: Hair and Makeup

In this digital age it always does me good to see that this dying art is still kicking its legs. The best Hair and Makeup achievements of the year are:

Captain America: The First Avenger
(David White, Lisa Westcott):

Redskull is a creepy and iconic creation, but let's not forget all the detailing that goes into those WWII battle scars and period hairdos.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows 2
(Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight, Lisa Tomblin):

Okay, so not everybody was convinced by the epilogue aging, but that doesn't diminish the quality and quantity of the other fantastical character designs.

Green Lantern (Joel Harlow, Felicity Bowring):

Wonderful alien creations and Peter Saarsgard's pronounced forehead are appropriately cartoonish but also convincingly done.

The Iron Lady (Mark Coulier, Marese Langan):

Nuanced aging work takes us through Thatcher's glory days to her desiccated "golden years" with tangible authenticity.

Thor (Luisa Abel, Janice Alexander):

The frost giants are particularly elaborate designs, but let's not forget all that robust Asgaardian facial hair.

Just missed: Captain America, Harry Potter 8, Hugo, War Horse

Bakeoff advances seven Makeup finalists

The makeup branch is the only one in the Academy that still employs the old fashioned bakeoff system to narrow its field to seven contenders before eventually deciding upon the final three (the visual effects has upped their shortlist to ten before nominating five). This branch is notorious for going their own way. The big eyebrow-raiser for me is that all four of this summer's super hero blockbusters (X-Men, Thor, Green Lantern, and Captain America, all of which sport nomination-worthy makeup) were left off the list. Seriously; What. Is. Up. With. That?

Also missing is the extensive aging work on J. Edgar. Pure speculation on my part, but I'm guessing the less-than-stellar work done on Armie Hammer proved a key stumbling block.

Sliding in is Harry Potter, which I'm beginning to think stands a chance at not only being nominated in this category for the first time, but maybe even winning as a last-chance tip of the hat to the franchise. It would be a nice bit of recognition for Nick Dudman, who's done more than his fair share of excellent work for the series.

Makeup finalists
Albert Nobbs
Anonymous
The Artist
Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo
The Iron Lady

My Award nominations: Hair and Makeup

Truth be told, I didn't come across that many worthy contenders for Best Hair and Makeup this year (I haven't even seen all seven of the Academy's bakeoff finalists), but hey, I can always go back and change my nominees if I eventually see something better. Anywho, the three best I've seen so far are:

Black Swan
(Judy Chin, Paul LeBlanc, Michael Marino):
Darkly stylized stage makeup and grisly bodily transformation horrors dance together in this beautiful psychological thriller.

The Fighter
(Donald Mowatt, Johnny Villanueva):
Whether it's Christian Bale's burnt-out drug addict, Mark Whalberg's battered boxer's mug, or the subtle aging work done on Melissa Leo, all the makeup efforts are realistic and believable.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
(Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight, Lisa Tomblin):
There may not have been many new characters to create, but the makeup work here is still highly detailed and effective, especially at making the three leads look progressively wearier and worn down throughout their saga.

The Way Back
(Eduouard Enrique, Yolanda Tousseing):
The work done on Peter Weir's "modest" epic (by the same Oscar-nominated team of Master and Commander) is so good you almost don't even notice. The realization of sunburns, swollen feet, and general dishevelment is detailed and incredibly realistic.

The Wolfman (Rick Baker, Lisa Westcott, Dave Elsey):
What is there really to say? When Rick Baker's on the job, you know he's gonna give you nothing less than Oscar-worthy makeup. Not only are the werewolf effects awesome, but the wound and illness effects are rendered just as artfully.


Just missed: Shutter Island