Best Makeup And Hairstyling: Ranking Every Oscar Nominee
Written by Andreas Babiolakis
We’re at the last of the production based categories, and my God, I never expected that I would call Best Makeup and Hairstyling one of the most difficult categories to rank in any given year. Often the butt end of the joke and one of the more controversial categories (because of the kinds of films that can get nominated or even win), Oscars enthusiasts often find themselves watching films they don’t care for in this category because even poorly made films can excel in some other areas, and great makeup and hair effects are often a must nowadays. While most of the films here are mediocre or just okay, I can safely say that every single nominee is a powerhouse here, and ranking these five picks was actually really difficult. I had to resort to the teensiest of reasons to place films higher or lower, and I don’t particularly feel great about it. Here are your nominees.
Biggest Snub: The Suicide Squad
While I wouldn’t change any of the five nominees, perhaps I am forever going to be salty about Suicide Squad winning this category (despite its makeup being one of the only good things about it). I feel like The Suicide Squad could have made an appearance here, because why shouldn’t the better of the two films make it as well? Either way, this isn’t a real snub, but I like placing another option here nonetheless just to keep the conversation going.
5. Coming 2 America-Mike Marino, Stacey Morris and Carla Farmer
Placing Coming 2 America last here feels blasphemous. The joke of having Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall in thick makeup to play cameo characters was a staple of the original film, and it’s done even better here. Furthermore the de-aging of characters — either in flashbacks (when the old clips and the new shots almost blend together effortlessly) or the present — is done incredibly well. It’s only last because the other four films prioritize their makeup and hair nearly throughout their entire durations. It’s a stupid criteria, but you kind of have to grasp at straws when every candidate is this good. Coming 2 America was a nominee that came from left field when other films were projected ahead of it, and while I didn’t care for the film very much, I believe it absolutely deserves to be here.
4. Cruella-Nadia Stacey, Naomi Donne and Julia Vernon
The makeup in Cruella is pretty good, especially when the titular antihero starts parading her signature look or some very interesting variations. However, it is its hairstyling that I really love. All of the surrounding characters have some great do’s as well, but Cruella de Vil (specifically her and not her Estella identity) has the fanciest black-and-white hairstyles you may ever see. The films ranked above excel in both areas, but consider this my way of saying Cruella has the best hairstyling of the five nominees.
3. House of Gucci-Göran Lundström, Anna Carin Lock and Frederic Aspiras
The interesting, occasionally weather-beaten hairstyles of the characters in House of Gucci tell such a story and add some personality to these people (perhaps the over-acting wasn’t necessary, then). Then there’s Patrizia Reggiani who dons a new look — including her hair and her makeup — nearly every single scene, and this alone is quite an achievement. Finally, I can’t forget the legitimately transformative makeup and hairstyling used on some characters like Paolo Gucci; it’s too bad that the performances underneath made these characters into cartoon creations, but the work done on the surface shouldn’t be ignored.
2. The Eyes of Tammy Faye-Linda Dowds, Stephanie Ingram and Justin Raleigh
Throughout The Eyes of Tammy Faye, we are presented with an absolute masterclass of makeup and hairstyling via just Jim Bakker and the titular Tammy Faye alone. Considering the amount of years we see Jessica Chastain and Andrew Garfield experience (both much younger and much older than they both actually are), the work here is sensational. While I didn’t care much for the film, one of my favourite aspects was watching these two people over the course of their histories, and the illusion of the passage of time was upheld by the brilliant work here. Tammy Faye’s makeup and hair also changed Chastain completely, and that adds extra marks to this nomination.
1. Dune-Donald Mowat, Love Larson and Eva von Bahr
Oh Dune. It isn’t even fair when a category this stacked still gets a Dune nomination and potential win. While a lot of the general makeup and hair isn’t as flashy as the other nominees here, Dune utilizes jaw-dropping examples when the chips are down (see Stellan Skarsgård above). The post-apocalyptic look is handled perfectly throughout the film, with inventive styles that project a future we can imagine as well as identifiable examples that we can identify with (especially in relation to the storms these characters have weathered). Dune may only narrowly beat the other nominees here in my rankings, but there’s enough evidence for me that it may very well be the top nominee.
Who I want to win: I’m going to be general again and say anyone here deserves to win, but I’ll still stick with Dune and The Eyes of Tammy Faye; maybe the latter because there’s a chance it’s all it will win (I don’t particularly like The Eyes of Tammy Faye, but its makeup is brilliant).
Who I think will win: Because of the hyper-promotion of the film, I feel like The Eyes of Tammy Faye will win something. There’s a chance Jessica Chastain won’t win, given the competition in the category of Best Actress, so all of the promotional efforts may result in a win for the film’s makeup and hairstyling. If not this film, then Dune will likely win, but I think it could be the one production and tech category that Dune may not win.
Tune in Monday for our next Academy Award category! We’re reviewing every single nominee on every weekday.
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.