I'm going to come right out and say this: There's a major problem with the new Passengers trailer. And while numerous Reddit threads will unfurl in the coming months saying it has to do with gravitational pull or the reality of the space-time continuum, I am here to talk about something I'm actually an expert in: Jennifer Lawrence's hair.
Presumably, the film is about a group of people who sign up for 120 years of hybernation with the expectation that they will wake up in a new century on a new planet. But the two most attractive of the pod people — Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence — happen to wake up too early. (Bummer right? Wouldn't you just hate being trapped on a giant, luxury spaceship with him? Or her?)
However — and maybe this is a spoiler alert — there is clearly one more person that woke up on the ship with them. And that person is Lawrence's hairstylist.
Lawrence's roots are so pristine, her blonde, multi-dimensional color so perfectly toned, her waves so perfectly tousled, it doesn't look like she left Earth — let alone the salon — less than a few hours ago. Unless that hibernation juice she was sleeping in is made of a crazy, color-preserving cocktail, or that robot bartender is a genius with balayage, or being frozen in time freezes your hair color too, something is really off here. (And even if that last part is true, Lawrence says in the beginning that they've been awake on the ship a year — which would equate to at least two to three inches of grow-in.)
And, why does this all matter? Well, it's really taking me out of the film. (And people on Twitter agree.)
This isn't the first time hair has affected my ability to suspend disbelief in cinema. Who can forget Rosamund Pike's perfect, sharp, blonde bob in Gone Girl, which she apparently put together herself with box dye and a pair of shears. Or every action film ever created in which the female lead runs around wearing loose waves, despite apocalyptic threats on her life. The only time I've really been able to take off my beauty-editor hat and sink into a movie was Blue Jasmine, in which you can watch Cate Blanchett's roots grow in with her increasing delusion.
In a time when actors undergo serious hair and body changes for roles, it doesn't make sense to me that we are still seeing female action heroes on screen with near-perfect Instagram waves. Yes, I understand it helps with continuity. Sure, it looks really pretty. And, yes, the patriarchy is probably somehow to blame, too.
But, in this instance, it's a case of me simply not buying it. I am printing it out and taking it to my colorist though. Believable or not, those highlights look good.
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