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Kate Winslet: 'The Life of David Gale'

By Suzanne Zuckerman
InStyle

Winslet
Winslet has the style of someone who is sure of herself in "The Life of David Gale."

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(InStyle) -- British actress Kate Winslet takes on an intensely American debate as journalist Bitsey Bloom in the death-penalty drama "The Life of David Gale."

"She's a professional, a New Yorker with a style of someone who's sure of herself," says costume designer Renee Ehrlich Kalfus.

Bloom's killer assignment? To interview Kevin Spacey's Gale, a Texas professor three days shy of his execution for rape and murder. Yet in Gale's case, as in the film's incendiary subject matter, nothing is as it seems.

As Bloom evolves from skeptic to savior, "we structured Kate's look and then we deconstructed it," explains makeup artist Sarah Monzani. "At the end of the second day she hasn't slept, it's pouring rain. She doesn't look like the same person. It's all breaking down."

Hair

Bloom's increased involvement in Gale's case is matched by what hairstylist Martin Samuel describes as "her various stages of dishevelment."

At the film's outset, Winslet's blond, razor-cut coif is polished and sleek. An intensive conditioner by Philip Kingsley was used to re-elasticize her hair each day "because of all of the blow-drying and hot-ironing" it took to create the "businesslike look" of a New York newswoman.

While filming in Texas, Samuel used his hands to run Joico K-Pak Reconstructor through Winslet's waves, allowing it to "do its own thing."

When Bloom ultimately returns to the Big Apple, her look retains a natural feel. "For this greater cause, all of the superficial stuff falls away and is sacrificed," notes Samuel. "The real emotional person comes out."

Makeup

When they sat down to discuss her character, Monzani told Winslet: "You're the kind of lady who goes for a facial every three weeks, who gets her hair cut regularly -- a manicured kind of woman."

To get this well-maintained look, Monzani used Nars Balanced foundation in Deauville ("Kate's favorite because it's very fine.") Touch-ups were done with Benefit Boi-ing concealer in medium while Paula Dorf Cheek Color Cream in Peek A Boo highlighted her face.

Max Factor ruby lip liner and Carmex were all it took to polish Winslet's flawless pout.

The star's lashes were lined with Max Factor Kohl pencil in charcoal gray and lengthened with the line's Stretch mascara.

So how did Monzani employ her skills to reflect Bloom's three frenetic days playing beat the clock? "Makeup becomes thinner, less structured," she reveals. "It's the difference between putting your makeup on and looking really nice, and rubbing your face like mad. That was the effect."

Clothes

Bitsy "spends time considering what would be appropriate for interviewing someone on death row," says Kalfus. Throwing everything she'll need into a brown suede slim duffel sac from Coach ("not the trendiest, but a classic," the costume designer points out), "she stays covered up, wearing nothing revealing."

Kalfus dressed Winslet in classic Yves Saint Laurent, such as the blouse shown here, and elegant pieces from Comme des Garçons. As her three days with Gale dwindle to mere moments before his scheduled execution, Bitsy neglects to change her clothes. (No time.) Kalfus relates, "It's not about what she's wearing but the intensity of what's going on in her life."

In fact, for the majority of her scenes, Winslet's uniform consists solely of a pair of Paper Denim & Cloth jeans, motorcycle boots and a look of undaunted determination.


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