The 10 best nail looks on film throughout history

In our increasingly accelerated world, wouldn’t it be incredibly fun - and time-saving - to simply change our nail colours in seconds with a simple device? The sci-fi flick starring Arnie Schwarzeneggar explores life on Mars, and alongside its exploration of the dystopian future, memory vs. reality, and three-breasted mutants, it depicts a technologically advanced civilisation. So advanced, that there is a scene with Tiffany (Alexia Robinson), a stylish receptionist who is seen casually changing and admiring her nail colour using a simple pen device, with a colour palette not too dissimilar from the familiar acrylic wheels at our local salons. Her nails transition from aquamarine to red with a tap and an electronic beep, which is frankly what futuristic dreams are made of. Who knows what will be possible by 2084?

For those of us who have fawned over Legally Blonde throughout the years, and re-enacted the famous ‘Bend and Snap!’ scene, Elle Woods’ (Reese Witherspoon) relationship to her nail lady and trusted confidante Paulette Bonafonté (Jennifer Coolidge), remains a hallmark friendship that continues to bring us joy with each rewatch. Enclosed by rows of nail varnish bottles, the beauty salon doubles as a safe space where secrets are spilt and female characters bond and forge a sisterhood, in spite of how they’ve been mistreated by men. While at Harvard Law school, Elle’s nails are more subtle, Paulette sports a shimmery pink set, or a colourful blue-pink gradient, as she plucks up the courage to stand up to her ex, bring back her dog, and also pursue her romantic interest. Essentially, manicures act as a catalyst for Elle and Paulette’s character developments.

Adapted from the famed children’s book of the same name, Holes is set in a correctional juvenile camp, exploring the legacy of family curses, friendship, and redemption. As Stanley Yelnats (Shia LaBeouf) is forced to dig holes in search of a buried treasure, navigating a world of bullies and conniving adults, the story’s main villain emerges as Warden Walker (Sigourney Weaver). Her weapon of choice is a secret ingredient in her homemade nail polish - rattlesnake venom - which she coats over her purply-pink lacquer and uses to scratch her colleague Marion (Jon Voigt), resulting in festering wounds and permanent scars. Throughout the film, characters are warned of rattlesnakes and toxic yellow-spotted lizards, but Walker’s vials of poisonous nail polishes should be added to the list of hazards too.

From the cigarette and whisky-laden world of slick 60s corporate New York, Betty Draper’s (January Jones) character arc remains the most tragic. Coiffed to impossible perfection, her 10-year transition from girlish and sweet Americana trophy wife to an embittered and depressive remarried woman can be reflected in her evolving style and increasing frostiness. One thing that stays constant, however, is her dedication to maintaining a vintage glam manicure. Known for her signature scarlet almond-shaped nails, Betty dons a French rose set in one of her more iconic scenes, when she shoots a bird down with a rifle, wearing only her white shift, and a cigarette hanging loosely from her lips. While the pink complements her outward femininity, it is a jarring scene as she subverts her regular docile demeanour. Given the pet name ‘Birdie’ by her unfaithful husband, in shooting her namesake, she kills off the rest of her innocence, which is pretty badass.

Inspired by the camp visual style of Jacques Demy’s 60s films, Populaire explores a My Fair Lady type relationship between secretary Rose Pamphyle (Déborah François) and her boss Louis Échard (Romain Duris), who trains her to enter a speed typing contest in NYC. As Rose has learned how to type unconventionally (by only using her index fingers!), Louis designs a rainbow manicure that is colour coordinated to her typewriter keys, in order to utilise all ten fingers. It’s an ambitious project that soon takes the nation by storm, as Rose’s colourful nails and unmatched typing speed earns her celebrity status and first place at the competition. For Rose, these rainbow nails aren’t just a professional guide and necessity, but a personal brand to match her quirky personality.

Anjelica Huston’s incarnation of the famed Addams’ family matriarch has retained an iconic status in cultural memory, with her witchy glamour, piercing cat-eyes, deadpan delivery, and devilish sense of humour. From the cinematic world, Morticia and her gallant husband Gomez (Raul Julia) are ultimate relationship goals - a perfect blend of the macabre and sensuality - and therefore offer a source of inspiration for couples every Halloween. Often seen tending to domestic hobbies with a morbid twist, such as cutting off roses from their stems, and her penchant for torture, Morticia’s actions are accompanied by a set of crimson stiletto-shaped nails, which elongate her fingers and reinforce her elegantly gothic persona. It would be impossibly difficult to remain as poised as Morticia Addams at all times, but we can emulate her character with this sharp manicure.

The French manicure has traditionally been the go-to nail design. However, from its popularity throughout the age of Classic Hollywood and prominence in bridal looks, the introduction of press-on nails in the late 70s (that are almost monopolised by French manicures) has resulted in its ‘tacky’ as opposed to ‘classy’ status in recent years. Despite this, in their respective films, Cher Horowitz and Daphne Kluger proudly display their nude-and-white-tipped nails for the world to see. In Clueless, Cher is a blonde Beverly Hills princess and full-time shopaholic. She struggles with a makeover project on new student Tai, who usurps her status as the most popular girl at school and delivers the burn to end all burns. However, after hitting rock-bottom, Cher dedicates her time to self-reflection, volunteering, making amends, and realising that she has been in love with her stepbrother all along.

Ocean’s 8 introduces Daphne as an airheaded filmstar, (unknowingly) enlisted as a mule to help Debbie Ocean’s heist to steal the ‘Touissant’, a $150 million Cartier necklace. While Daphne plays her part perfectly and the effort runs smoothly, it is revealed that she has been aware of the operation all along, and wants to be fully on-board. Both initially ridiculed for their ditziness and superficiality, Cher and Daphne are characters that subvert their external vanities to reveal real, nuanced, and three-dimensional individuals underneath. French manicures are on the rise again, and we can look out for more of them on the silver screen.

David Lynch’s dreamlike noir is a cult-favourite pastiche of 50s cinema, following Betty Elms (Naomi Watts) as she heads to LA with aspirations of Hollywood fame. She meets Rita (Laura Elena Harring), a mysterious amnesiac woman who has modelled her persona on 1940s bombshell Rita Hayworth, and things aren’t quite as they seem. Dreams bleed into waking life, and as the plot involves oneiric glimpses of bags of money, a blue key, mobsters, and murder, it becomes hard to discern reality from imagination. Rita wears a vintage-inspired half-moon manicure throughout the film, a glamorous red that nods to the film stars of classical Hollywood and pays homage to her personal idol.

Wong Kar-Wai’s In the Mood for Love is a wistful film very much focused on hands: what they do, touch, hold, and feel. A quick Google search for the film name and hands returns an impressive collection of hepatic stills of Su Li-zhen (Maggie Cheung) and her neighbour Chow Mo-wan (Tony Leung), two lonely souls who fall in love after they realise their spouses have been secretly seeing each other. Su’s cool elegance radiates mainly from Cheung’s poised body language, glamorous tailored cheongsam collections, and 60s updo, but her simple opalescent manicure that glints in the light completes the polished look. Its colour is subtle enough to compliment all of her dresses, and it signifies the maintained purity and innocence of Su’s character, as her relationship with Chow sadly never reaches a physical stage or closure.