Actor's Watch #114 [Man at a Crossroads] Oscar Isaac's watch

"Actor's Watch" focuses on watches worn by actors in movies, television, etc.
In this 114th installment, we will be introducing " Oscar Isaac's watch ."

*Source: https://www.looper.com/

Oscar Isaac became a famous actor after playing Poe Dameron, a skilled pilot of the rebel army, one of the main characters in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015).

I remember being very surprised at the time when he was cast as the main cast member of a blockbuster like " Star Wars ," because up until then he had demonstrated his strong individuality in niche independent films such as " Angel Wars " (2011), "Drive" (2011), and "Ex Machina" (2015).

This time, we will be focusing on the watches worn by this unexpected man, Oscar Isaac .

American Dreamer: The Price of an Ideal

A MOST VIOLENT YEAR (2014)

*Source: https://www.rickchung.com/

New York in 1981 was one of the world's most crime-ridden cities. Abel ( Oscar Isaac ), founder of an oil company, was steadily growing his business by sticking to clean business practices in an oil industry dominated by corruption and violence.

In order to expand his business, Abel spends all his money to buy land to build an oil terminal, but he begins to suffer from threats from the mafia, which has ties to rival companies, and repeated attacks on his tanker truck. Eventually, the driver of the tanker truck, unable to bear the danger, fires a gun. This brings Abel to the attention of the police, and he runs into difficulties obtaining loans from the bank, forcing him to turn to the mafia...

*Source: https://www.icollector.com/

Set in 1981, the year with the highest crime rate in New York history, " American Dreamer " (2014) depicts the success and struggles of Abel, an immigrant who dreams of the American Dream and starts an oil company. Oscar Isaac, who plays Abel, who pursues his ideal of a "clean oil business," wears a solid gold watch that appears to be a Rolex Day-Date (Ref. 1803/8) .

A Day-Date on the wrist of a man who is "on the verge of achieving the American Dream," not a man who has already achieved it . You could say that this is a watch that expresses "the ideal self that you are trying to become." However, because it is worn by a man who is torn between his "ideal business" and "harsh reality," this watch seems to emphasize even more the "difficulty of continuing to pursue your ideals."

Triple Frontier

TRIPLE FRONTIER (2019)

*Source: https://variety.com/

Garcia ( Oscar Isaac ), a member of a private military company, was pursuing the whereabouts of drug lord Lorea at the request of the Colombian police. Garcia learns from an insider that a large sum of money is hidden in Lorea's hideout, so he gathers his former comrades from the special forces and plans to steal the money.

Garcia and his men, along with former special forces members Tom ( Ben Affleck ) and William ( Charlie Hunnam ), who were lured by the large sum of money, raided the Lorea mansion. Although the plan was a great success, the drug cartel was in hot pursuit, and they were soon faced with the choice between taking the money or taking their lives...

*Source: https://cdn.justjared.com/

" Triple Frontier " (2019) is a crime action movie set in the border area where the three countries of Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay adjoin, depicting mercenaries targeting a large amount of money hidden by a drug cartel. Oscar Isaac, who plays Garcia, a man who is tired of mercenary work and wants to start a new life with the large amount of money he stole, wears a multi-function digital watch that appears to be a Suunto Core All Black (Ref. SS014279010 ) in the movie.

The action scenes in this film take place across the plains and wilderness, so a watch with an electronic compass like the Suunto Core is a must-have item.

Card counter

THE CARD COUNTER (2021)

*Source: https://m.imdb.com/

William ( Oscar Isaac ), a former soldier who was convicted of abusing prisoners and served eight years in prison, learned gambling card techniques while in prison, and after his release, he continues to move from casino to casino, using the forbidden technique of "card counting," which involves memorizing the numbers on every card he sees.

Soon, a mysterious woman named Linda ( Tiffany Haddish ), who sees his gambling skills, appears before him and offers him financial support to enter the world poker championships. However, he is unable to let go of his desire for revenge against his former superior, Colonel Gord ( Willem Dafoe ), who caused him to commit crimes. His heart is torn between "success in the card world" and "revenge"...

*Source: https://timeandtidewatches.com/

The Card Scam (2021) depicts a gambler who is haunted by the sins he committed in the past and has lived a lonely life relying only on his card skills, coming to a crossroads in his life. The famous duo of Martin Scorsese (executive producer) and Paul Schrader (director and screenwriter) have created a new anti-hero following Travis ( Robert De Niro ) from Taxi Driver (1976).

Oscar Isaac, who plays William, a gambler with a sharp gaze who shoots through the cards, wears a Piaget Polo S (Ref. G0A41003) in this film. William has two sides to him: he is both a passionate avenger and a calm and collected card player. I think this watch, named after the fierce yet elegant horse-riding ball game "polo," effectively expresses the duality of strength and intelligence.

summary

What did you think.

" Clean business or relying on the mafia ?" " Big money or life? " " Success as a gambler or revenge ?" In the movies introduced this time, Oscar Isaac always plays a man at a crossroads in his life.

In addition to his outstanding acting skills, although he is Latino from Guatemala in South America, his sad expression in his eyes gives him the aura of a " man in distress " and a " man of deep thought ."

*Source: https://www.cheatsheet.com/

The wristwatch also seems to be an effective item in the film, representing the character's ideal while emphasizing the agony of not being able to live up to that ideal .

Through this research, I feel like I have learned about the profound use of watches in movies; they are " props that represent the characters " but at the same time " props that represent things that the characters cannot obtain ."

There are likely still many new discoveries to be made about the relationship between movies and watches.

see you!