Cornwall’s clinical caravan parks and claustrophobic landscapes are the backdrops for Claire Oakley’s impressive directorial debut Make-Up – a visually arresting, pensive mood-piece about sexuality, lustfulness, and coming-of-age.
When 18-year-old Ruth (Molly Windsor) arrives at a caravan park in Cornwall to be with her boyfriend Tom (Joseph Quinn), her romantic getaway is disrupted when she finds evidence that he may be cheating on her. As Ruth begins to tug on various threads to get to the bottom of this, she is led to the elusive Jade (Stefanie Martini) – an enigmatic employee at the park that quickly captivates Ruth and throws her sexuality into question.
While it does take some time to find its footing, Make-Up feels like such a thrilling exercise because of its unpredictability. Much like Ruth trying to navigate the mystique of her Cornwall surroundings, it takes time for the audience to fully get drawn into Oakley’s rain-splattered narrative. The world she creates feels tactile and immersive thanks to the film’s bleak visual palette; Nick Cooke’s cinematography feels stark and beautiful, while the minimalistic design and score from Sophia Stocco and Ben Salisbury, respectively, complement the cold and volatile aesthetic that Oakley is going for. That being said, there’s a beauty to the emptiness of the country locale – neat rows of empty caravans, vast and deserted beaches. Oakley soaks the viewer in her moody Cornwall and it makes for a hypnotic atmosphere.
Windsor, Quinn, and Martini also make up a strong leading cast. While Windsor delivers a captivating performance as the lost Ruth, Quinn and Martini anchor her with equally impressive work. There are few scenes without Windsor front and centre so it’s a testament to her craft that she has such a strong, alluring screen presence to make this film what it is. Sadly, sometimes the script is a little thin and the characterisation leaves something to be desired so we never quite get to delve quite as deep as we’d hope but the performances do a competent job of really bringing dimension to the writing.
Make-Up can take a while to get going, with some trite characterisation, but it’s the world that Oakley crafts and the performances she is able to draw from her cast that make this film a worthwhile endeavour. The unpredictability of the story keeps it constantly involving and, at only 82 minutes, it doesn’t ever feel like it overstays its welcome. A thematically compelling, visually arresting mood-piece about sexuality, lustfulness, and coming-of-age — Make-Up is a strong debut that shows signs of great things to come from Claire Oakley and its star Molly Windsor.
Make Up
Summary
A visually arresting, pensive mood-piece about sexuality, lustfulness, and coming-of-age.
