I happen to think Maria Bello is very attractive, but she sure doesn't look her best in this movie. What's with her (lack of) makeup? Yellowish skin, no lipstick. Did that bother anyone else? Anyone have any idea what's going on here?
shareI actually did notice this. But have no idea what the reason would be. Maybe just to make sure she didn't overshadow the other women?
shareI noticed that, too. Her hair always looked unwashed and unkempt, too.
shareSo you all noticed her lack of makeup and glamor for this movie...did any of you actually watch the movie though? And pay attention? Jocelyn is a woman not concerned by her looks or what a man thinks. Make-up on a daily basis and glitz and glamour are not priorities in her life. She is content without them.
shareUhhh....that's weird. I actually thought she looked absolutely gorgeous and natural in this movie! I don't know that I noticed exactly how pretty she was until this movie. I mean, I always thought "Well, yeah she's good looking" but I think she really just looked pretty and unconcerned and natural which I think was one of her best looks.
Only the shell, the perishable passes away. The spirit is without end. Eternal. Deathless.
If you watch very closely (and this progression is very subtle, so I'm being literal, not sarcastic about watching closely), Bello does look a bit washed out and unkempt, especially after her hubby drops the D-bomb on her (by the time they accidentally bump into each other in the market parking lot, she damn near looks like a bag lady). Contrast this with the scene where she catches her ex cutting the grass, and really confronts him for the first time about the whole breakup issue, setting her boundaries. By telling him to back off and not call and all, she's finally progressed to the 'anger' stage of grief, and seems a bit surprised that not only had she survived the worse, she put her ex in his place but took the high road, not allowing anger to overtake her. Instead, it was signaling a new beginning for her. It's as if she reclaims her single life right in front of him -- despite his many hints that he's finally (and/or regretting) his part in it for the very first time. Suddenly her face has color, her hair looks conditioned, and beautiful, tanned legs briefly peek out as she rocks a simple white bathrobe.
If you see the movie again, you'll notice a bit more make-up (just a hint) in her next scene, after she faces her ex she also appears self-confident for the first time in that scene as well. From that point on, she glows a bit more with each scene. I saw the movie three times (including twice in one night, I thought it was sweet and sometimes hilariously funny, but I missed little parts here and there, and simply *had* to see it again). She begins changing her hairstyle too, and touches of slightly brighter color appear in her wardrobe, signaling that she's emerging from her 'black/in mourning' period, and is processing through (or emerging from) the stages of grief. (Prudie goes through a somewhat similar 'color evolution' as well.)
This change of appearance/transformation is particularly noticeable in the scene at the fundraising dinner, where she and the book club were expecting her ex-husband to show up with the "other woman." Her hair was suddenly straight as a board, she outshined jewelry (lol) and her makeup was tastefully understated but gorgeous -- she was absolutely glowing!
I won't go further as I don't wish to spoil anything if someone by chance hasn't seen the movie.
;)
To the poster above, Maria Bello played Jocelyn, the dog lover. Not the woman whose husband left her.
Touch me and die, vermin.
I LOVE your analysis groovybaby. Even though you got the character's name wrong (tiny mistake - we all make them) ;) I loved the detail you went into and how you pulled everything together so eloquently. Well done - you should be a writer. Your observations are spot on!
shareBe a good idea if you watched the movie again .
shareI though she looked gorgeous as well lol.
Lonely Chicago pie
I think she has never looked better. Truly beautiful.
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It seems to me for much of the movie there is very little makeup on any of the women. Actually very refreshing.
shareI have to agree. I thought they all looked beautiful in this film. More so in fact. Fresh....clean....BEAUTIFUL
shareI thought Bello changed as well, heck, who doesn't when dressing up for a fancy party with a good looking guy?
shareJust so you know, the story is set in Davis, CA., a college town where everybody looks casual at best, or like old hippies at worst.
I live here, and FYI you can go for days and days without seeing a pair of high heels, and minimal or absent makeup is common.
“Seventy-seven courses and a regicide, never a wedding like it!
Omg I did not know this! I'm from Davis, but I've never read the book. They don't identify the town in the movie as Davis, do they? It was filmed in southern California and looks like it, plus there's a beach somewhere nearby, which is not the case in Davis. But the characters all fit perfectly.
shareSame here! I thought she was stunning in this movie.
shareI think this is part of her ROLE & CHARACTER in the film.
I felt it was ideal for what was going on with her.
Yeah, sure, but her hair was driving me crazy--that messed-up half ponytail thing. Even a person who doesn't care about her appearance can manage a better ponytail than that. It was too calculated and not realistic. In fact, now that I think of it, I wasn't crazy about anyone's hair in this! Emily Blunt's looked like a wig, Amy Brenneman's also too calculatedly messy, Kathy Baker's--ugh!
shareMaria Bello is absolutely gorgeous .
shareI am watching it right now and to me she looks like she just had botox. It really surprised me, cause I've seen her in more recent things and she did not have that look at all. So I came here to see if others noticed. I think this is why she looks a bit different cause she is wearing make up but done to appear like she isn't wearing much. However her face has that puffed up look, especially when you see her from the side.
I've just now watched this movie, and I think Maria Bello has never looked so luminously lovely.
She had a "natural" makeup look -- it's never completely devoid of makeup, but just that the makeup is done subtly and with natural sunkissed tones to mimic a fresh, healthy face. It's a great look and she looked gorgeous in this movie.
I also didn't see any botox.