Actor Spotlight: Oscar Isaac
Get ready for a lot of Oscar Isaac this fall!
It’s about to be Oscar Isaac season, and we couldn’t be more ready. In addition to The Card Counter (see our review below!) opening in theaters this weekend, our guy will be starring in HBO’s Scenes from a Marriage miniseries and Dune in the next couple months. Let’s get you ready for Oscar Isaac to be back in your life with a few of his movies streaming now.
Drew recommends…
Operation Finale (streaming on Netflix)
While Operation Finale isn’t Oscar Isaac’s best performance, it might just be the best one you haven’t seen. This historical drama came and went around Labor Day weekend in 2018 without making much of a splash, so much so that I don’t even recall it opening in theaters. Which is a shame, because Operation Finale is a strong depiction of a real-life story in the aftermath of World War II.
Oscar Isaac usually likes to play complex and conflicted characters with a dark edge, such as in Inside Llewyn Davis, A Most Violent Year, and Ex Machina. Here he plays Israeli secret agent Peter Malkin, a fundamentally decent man driven by the loss of his sister to the Nazis during the Holocaust. Operation Finale is set 15 years after the end of the war when a team of Israeli Mossad officers travel to Argentina to capture Adolf Eichmann, one of the major architects of the Holocaust. Eichmann escaped after the Nazis were defeated and ended up living in South America for ten years. Malkin and his team are determined to have Eichmann stand trial for his role in the death of millions of Jews. But first they have to capture him and sneak him out of the country. As Malkin, Isaac gets to play a good guy that isn’t morally compromised.
It’s a rare thing to be able to hold the screen and carry a movie almost entirely on your back. Operation Finale is well-acted, but the writing and directing are not all that stylish or memorable. Instead, Oscar Isaac and the cast are tasked with making this more than a TV movie you could find anytime on the History Channel. Fortunately, Isaac has the type of natural charisma and presence that you need from a leading man in a movie like this. He always seems to bring an ease to his performances that is neither pushing too hard nor too soft. Even in more emotionally intense scenes, Isaac is calibrating his behavior and speech. He’s got both matinee idol looks and instincts on screen.
The supporting cast of Operation Finale is doing capable work, but the film comes alive in the scenes between Isaac and Ben Kingsley, who plays Eichmann. Both actors are extremely adept at revealing what’s not on the page. As their characters form an uneasy relationship, I was fascinated by the back-and-forth. Isaac and Kingsley brought depth to their character arcs that wasn’t necessarily in the screenplay.
Whether he’s playing a hotshot pilot in Star Wars, a sad sack folk musician in a Coen brothers film, or an Israeli spy in Operation Finale, Oscar Isaac always displays a depth that is hard to replicate. He’s that increasingly rare type: a natural movie star that can also take on many different and challenging characters.
Billy recommends…
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (streaming on Disney+)
The most anticipated movie event of the 21st century adds one of our most underrated actors. Somehow Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens did not bring Oscar Isaac into A-List stardom, but his ability to lead while bringing character actor qualities brought us a Han Solo type character that was never given the chance to branch out. Despite Isaac’s efforts to differentiate himself.
The Force Awakens opens up with Isaac’s character Poe Dameron in peril receiving the key to weaken The First Order. His energy sets the tone for the entire movie. A sarcastic and defiant character who is loyal to the Resistance while wanting to pave his own path. All of this discernment of a character is clearly depicted in the first scene. Primarily because of the talent that Oscar Isaac provides.
About 30 minutes in Poe vanishes for most of the rest of the movie. The tone he sets carries the story well through most of the runtime and once it begins to drag he comes back into the story. Sorry for all the vague spoilers, but for a supporting character Isaac gives life to the story that most supporting characters aren’t able to. If The Force Awakens was your gateway to Oscar Isaac use the opportunity to watch his other performances. Many of which DYLA has written about already!
Inside Llewyn Davis (streaming on Amazon Prime)
This is a re-post from a May 2019 newsletter
There comes a time every five years where Hollywood forces an actor into your face and wants that actor to be one of the faces of Hollywood. Examples of Sam Worthington and Taylor Kitsch come to mind where they were supposed to be the next big star, but it just does not work out. Oscar Isaac has been going through that the past 5 or so years, but in this instance, he is the star-studded actor that we deserve, but not the one we need……. or something. I really want Oscar Isaac to be Batman, OK!?
Let’s get back on track. The Coen brothers, directors of Inside Llewyn Davis, have a great eye for talented actors. There are many instances where they give an actor an opportunity way before audiences realize how talented an actor is. Choosing Oscar Isaac is their magnum opus example. Isaac gives a masterfully understated performance that does not get talked about enough because of the Coen brothers’ reputation.
There is no doubt that the Coens are master directors. Every single frame is beautifully staged and the thematic qualities of this small film make it feel large. Putting all that pressure on to the title character is a tough task to carry out, but Isaac was given the opportunity to carry that and he did wonderfully. Plus, a cameo from Justin Timberlake does not hurt.
Inside Llewyn Davis will go by quickly and feel inconsequential upon first viewing. You will go to bed and not think much of it right away. Then the next day you will notice your foot tapping to a mysterious beat and not know why. Heavy themes will come back and get you thinking. And all the amazing performances, masterful direction, and original soundtrack will put a smile on your face. Then naturally you will come back for more. Those feelings are something that only the best cinema can give you and Inside Llewyn Davis is one of the best.
Recent Release Mini-Reviews
The Card Counter (in theaters now)
Drew: While it doesn’t reach the revelatory heights of 2018’s First Reformed, The Card Counter is a similar dark character study in search of redemption from writer-director Paul Schrader. With his slow burn stories that take on more heat as they progress, Schrader has created a trademark style that won’t be for everyone. However, Oscar Isaac is an inspired choice to play the tormented loner at the center of The Card Counter. It’s one of the best actor-director unions of the year. - 3.5 / 5 Apples
Links
So many new trailers this week! And there’s something for everyone. We got exciting first looks at the highly anticipated The Matrix Resurrections and Netflix’s star-studded Don’t Look Up. For smaller releases, we saw a teaser for the upcoming Jake Gyllenhaal thriller The Guilty and C’mon, C’mon starring Joaquin Phoenix.
RIP Michael K. Williams, one of the most unique and gifted performers we had. If you saw him on screen (in The Wire, Boardwalk Empire, The Night Of, and many others), you never forgot him. Many great pieces have come out in the week since his untimely death, but I was partial to this In Memoriam by Matt Zoller Seitz and this conversation Williams had with Marc Maron on the WTF podcast.