The makeup artists who made the sleek, glamorous Helen Mirren look like frumpy Golda Meir in the movie Golda made the shortlist for the Oscar for Best Makeup and Hairstyling. The shortlists for several Oscar categories were announced in Los Angeles on Thursday.
Mirren’s performance as the former prime minister coping with the Yom Kippur War won raves, and many credited the makeup artists for giving her an authentic look. Guy Nattiv, the director, said, “The brilliant Karen Hartley and her team deserve everything in my book. They did a fantastic transformation of Helen into Golda. The Golda team is so proud of them.”
A controversial decision sparked conversation
Mirren’s look as Golda, and her casting in the film, drew criticism from some who felt it was wrong for a non-Jewish actress to portray such an iconic Jewish character. Mirren said she had doubts at the outset.
In a press conference at the world premiere of Golda at the Berlin International Film Festival, she said, “It was certainly a question that I had before I accepted the role. . . Meir is a very important person in Israeli history . . . I said, ‘Look, Guy, I’m not Jewish, and if you want to think about that and decide to go in a different direction, no hard feelings. I will understand.’ But he very much wanted me to play the role, and off we went.” In recent weeks, there has been Oscar buzz building for Mirren’s performance and many critics have said she deserves a nod for this role.
Another film that made the shortlist in the Best Makeup category, Maestro, a Leonard Bernstein biopic from Netflix, also generated controversy over the prosthetic nose worn by Bradley Cooper, who plays Bernstein and who is not Jewish.
Wild Summon, a movie by the Israeli-British duo, Karni Arieli and Saul Freed, made the shortlist for Best Animated Short Film. This film, which is described on the Internet Movie Database as, "A natural history fantasy film, following the dramatic lifestyle of the wild salmon in human form," is narrated by Marianne Faithfull, an iconic rock/folk/jazz singer and actress. Arieli and Freed studied at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem.
The Israeli film that was Israel’s official choice for consideration for an Oscar in the Best International Feature category, Ayelet Menahemi’s Seven Blessings, about two generations of Moroccan women, did not make the shortlist. No Israeli film has been included on the shortlist since Samuel Maoz’s Foxtrot seven years ago. The last time an Israeli movie was nominated for an Academy Award in this category was Joseph Cedar’s Footnote in 2012. Israel has more nominations in this category without a win than any other country, 10 in all.
The final Oscar nominations will be announced on January 23 and the awards will be presented in a star-studded ceremony on March 10.