Mary Queen of Scots - 2 nominations

Costume Design - Alexandra Byrne
Makeup and Hairstyling - Jenny Shircore, Marc Pilcher and Jessica Brooks

Mary Queen of Scots follows Queen Mary, the queen of Scotland whose birthright entitles her heirs to the throne of England, and Queen Elizabeth who sits atop that throne.  Though they never actually met (despite the liberties taken in this film), they seem through their letters to have been close supporters of one another, and bitter rivals.  Mary is a Catholic, Elizabeth is a Protestant, and with the majority of England Protestant, Mary is seen as a particular threat with concerns that she will impose her religion upon the masses.  But this is not the only problem with the queen - she attract men and marriages easily, and she produces an heir thereby threatening Elizabeth's legacy on the throne.  The constant back stabbing and treachery sends both women into hardening their hearts against each other.  At the end of her life, the relationship is so eroded that Mary spends her final days without her son who has been taken by Queen Elizabeth, and ultimately as Elizabeth's prisoner.  She is finally taken to her execution at Elizabeth's order.

This movie is terrific.  From the opening scene in the first moment, it was clear that this film would have a makeup and hairstyling nomination.  The makeup work is well done for Elizabeth as she suffered from small pox and its aftermath, but the hairstyling is beyond remarkable.  The creative designs are impressive, abundant, and produced on multiple characters per scene.  Of course when period films are done well, the costume design nomination is almost inevitable, but the work here is just superb.  Look to Mary Queen of Scots as the winner of both of these categories.

It is important to also make mention of Saoirse Ronen and Margot Robbie, who were both excellent in this picture.  Robbie in particular stood out to me, with her pained portrayal of Queen Elizabeth, her measured responses, her despair, her loneliness, her largesse - the part is well written and Robbie was an epic success.