The supporting cast functions as a Greek chorus of industry archetypes. The director is an enthusiastic sadist with pockets full of past glories; the makeup artist is a philosopher who recites aphorisms about camouflage; the studio exec is a blandly bullish force whose decisions land like small earthquakes. They are caricatures but also symptoms. The screenplay lets them speak in shorthand so the camera can eavesdrop on quieter betrayals — a flinch when a joke lands too hard, a makeup artist’s lingering look at a bruise they cannot legally inquire about.
