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The recent gangster biopic Black Mass stars Johnny Depp as real-life organized crime boss Whitey Bulger, a fixture in Boston’s criminal underworld from the 1960s through the 1990s. Depp gives an intense performance as the ruthless mobster, who was legendary for his unpredictable behavior and violent methods. The actor embraced the role, mastering the South Boston accent and adopting street-tough mannerisms. I recommend Black Mass, which was directed by Scott Cooper (Out of the Furnace; Crazy Heart) whose realist style serves the story well.
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DEPP (TOP) WANTED TO CLOSELY RESEMBLE THE REAL-LIFE BULGER.
And, yet, can filmmakers take the concept of realism too far? Case in point: Johnny Depp’s makeup in Black Mass. The actor’s handsome dark looks were completely masked by the make-up designed by Joel Harlow, who has worked with Depp on ten other films. Depp works externally with his performances, conceiving a look and then adapting his character’s persona accordingly. This is not an uncommon strategy for actors, and Depp has had tremendous success with it. Harlow discussed the makeup for Black Mass in a recent interview for the online source Deadline Hollywood, “He’s got a prosthetic that goes from his cheeks and the bottom of his nose to the middle of his head. His eyebrows were covered so they are false eyebrows. Each hair was individually punched into the prosthetic each time before it was put on. There were about 45 forehead pieces that needed to be done … and each took 22 hours to do.” In addition, Depp’s hair was replaced by a balding pate, he wore caps over his teeth to discolor them, and he sported very blue contacts to hide his brown eyes. The strategy behind the make-up not only captures Bulger’s appearance but also helps viewers forget all vestiges of Captain Jack Sparrow.
However, at times the faux skin of the prosthetic and the cloudy blue contacts did not look natural. They may have accurately reflected Bulger’s Irish coloring, but the skin and the eye color were sometimes distracting. In dialogue scenes, in which conversation unfolded in close-ups, Depp’s contacts made his eyes look flat and impenetrable while his skin looked too smooth and waxy. In comparison, the pupils of his costars were clear and intense, and the tiny wrinkles around their eyes were noticeable. Benedict Cumberbatch, who played Bulger’s brother, required prosthetics to fatten his cheeks, but this adjustment did not alter his looks. Interestingly, the supporting cast also played characters based on real-life mobsters, but they relied only on period hairstyles and standard make-up techniques. While I can’t say the make-up hurt Depp’s performance, I couldn’t help but speculate what it might have been like without the fake skin and dead eyes.
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JIMMY STEWART AS GLENN MILLER: A MINIMALIST APPROACH TO MAKEUP
Today’s advances in prosthetics and computer-generated imagery have completely changed the presentation of monsters and aliens in horror and sci-fi. Instead of actors or stunt men in costumes, masks, or make-up, computer-generated creatures are commonplace. Two years ago, a futuristic action film titled Looper starred Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a young version of a character played by Bruce Willis. Gordon’s onscreen appearance was altered by CGI to make him look more like Willis. The effect was distracting, interfering with Lewis’s natural facial expressions—like wearing a computer-generated mask. It denied viewers a chance to bond or connect with the character, who looked like an escapee from a video game. Willis wiped the screen with Lewis, whose performance was hindered, or stunted. So far, dramas, including biopics, have escaped this trend for heavy prosthetics and computer-enhanced make-up, generally relying on the actors’ performances to absorb viewers in the life stories of the famous and the notorious. I wonder if films like Black Mass will influence other producers of biopics and dramas to adopt extreme approaches to make-up. Image may be NSFW.
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THE REAL ZIEGFELD
Biopics were a staple during the Golden Age of Hollywood, bringing prestige and sometimes awards for studios. In contrast to actors in today’s biopics and true stories, Golden Age stars were rarely made up to look exactly like the famous or infamous person they were portraying. Neither viewers nor critics seemed to expect that level of verisimilitude. Part of the reason might have been that movie stars were the fuel that drove the film industry during the Golden Age, and the majority of audiences went to the movies because of the stars. The desire to see Errol Flynn as George Armstrong Custer or Spencer Tracy as Thomas Edison was likely more appealing than the subjects themselves.
Back in the day, only a hint or suggestion of the historical figure’s hair, facial features, or personal style was needed for most audiences to accept an actor’s portrayal. Jimmy Stewart wore only a pair of metal-framed glasses to play Glenn Miller in the Oscar-nominated The Glenn Miller Story. Make-up artist Max Factor and his team used only wigs with gray hair to turn William Powell into Florenz Ziegfeld in The Great Ziegfeld. In Yankee Doodle Dandy, Jimmy Cagney wore a succession of hats to represent George M. Cohan, who was always shown in newspaper photos decked out in hats. Annie Oakley was famous for her sharpshooter abilities but also her western-style buckskins with fringe, which were emulated by costume designer Walter Plunkett for Barbara Stanwyck when she played Little Miss Sure Shot in the 1935 biopic.
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LARRY PARKS BORE NO RESEMBLANCE TO AL JOLSON.
Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt are the American presidents most often depicted on film. During the Golden Age, Henry Fonda, Raymond Massey, and Walter Huston all played Lincoln, whose unique beard, bushy brows, and thin, hollowed face made him easy to recognize. Fonda in Young Mr. Lincoln sported a fake nose to help him look more like Honest Abe since his version of Lincoln was too young for his famous beard. For Steven Spielberg’s biopic Lincoln, star Daniel Day Lewis was aged through makeup, but like their predecessors, the make-up team did little more than exploit the beard and brows to make the actor resemble the 16th president. To capture Franklin Roosevelt, Ralph Bellamy in Sunrise at Campobello, Edward Herrmann in Eleanor and Franklin, and Bill Murray in Hyde Park on Hudson relied on FDR’s tell-tale cigarette holder to make their interpretations believable.
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APPARENTLY, YOU ONLY NEED A CIGARETTE HOLDER TO IMPERSONATE FDR. THIS IS BILL MURRAY AS THE FAMOUS PRESIDENT.
In some instances, no prop or signifying facial feature was necessary to portray a famous person. Some actors, even in costume, bore no recognizable connection to the person they were playing. Columbia make-up artist Clay Campbell chose not to make Larry Parks look anything like Al Jolson for The Jolson Story, and Parks was nominated for an Oscar for his performance. Most movie goers would have known what Jolson looked like, but no one was bothered by Parks’ lack of resemblance to the legendary singer. Both Wallace Beery and Yul Brynner played Pancho Villa, and neither of them looked or dressed like the Mexican rebel.
Most actors do not need to be physically transformed into their real-life counterparts; they only need to act.