Formative Friendships in Armageddon Time

The 1980 backdrop of James Gray’s semi-autobiographical drama feels familiar: A celebrity turned politician challenges the establishment, racial tensions simmer and socioeconomic disparities loom large. And one comforting time-honored aspect endures: Queens sixth-graders Paul Graff (Banks Repeta) and Johnny Davis (Jaylin Webb) dress alike. “Because they’re best friends,” says costume designer Madeline Weeks, who kept the cast in late-’70s wardrobe, conveying the era’s pre-fast-fashion consumer mindset.

Paul, from a middle-class, two-parent Jewish family, and Johnny, a Black boy confronting the daily trauma of racism at school (and in the world at large), bond over their creative aspirations. Paul fantasizes of being a “famous artist,” while Johnny yearns to join NASA and see a Sugarhill Gang concert. “Johnny and Paul love style,” says Weeks. Like the period’s New York City youth, Paul, in burnt orange and green, and Johnny, in “soulful” blues, wear copious layers: shirts over tees or turtlenecks and then jackets. “Those hopes and dreams we want to reflect in their clothes,” says Weeks.

The boys, in coordinating on-trend stripes, sneak away from a Guggenheim school trip anticipating an exhilarating Manhattan afternoon. Weeks imagined where Paul’s teacher mom, Esther (Anne Hathaway), would have shopped for his mustard turtleneck and long-sleeve shirt. “James once…