Oscar Isaac hasn’t had a long career in films, but he is quickly becoming one of the most interesting and acclaimed actors in the business. Isaac commands the screen whenever he appears, whether its with powerful, bold performances or quiet, reserved roles. He is an actor who automatically elevates whatever movie he’s a part of.
What makes Isaac such a successful actor is his ability to select interesting projects. He takes risks and finds worthwhile roles, which have earned him plenty of praise from the critics. But, which of his films do critics favor most? Here are Oscar Isaac’s best films, according to Rotten Tomatoes.
Triple Frontier (72%)
While he is mostly known for his dramatic work, it’s not hard to see Isaac developing into an action hero thanks to roles like Triple Frontier. Isaac is backed by a solid cast including Ben Affleck and Pedro Pascal in the gritty adventure film about a group of ex-soldiers who decide to rob a South American drug lord.
Though it is an ensemble piece, Isaac very much leads the story with his character planning the mission in the first place and being the first to recognize they made a deadly mistake. The movie is a solid, tense thriller with a grounded feel.
The Two Faces Of January (80%)
Isaac is one of those actors who seems to fit perfectly into a story from any period. The Two Faces of January takes him to the 1960s in Greece where he plays a con artist who meets a married couple (Viggo Mortensen and Kristen Dunst) vacationing in Athens. As he is drawn to the wife, the conman soon finds himself involved in a game of wits with her mysterious and dangerous husband.
The impressive cast helps make this a compelling thriller. The film takes a more restrained approach to the story, relying on the tension that builds between the three characters rather than using outlandish twists and turns.
At Eternity’s Gate (80%)
Even with big franchise films like Star Wars making him a bankable star, Isaac enjoys smaller and more intimate stories like At Eternity’s Gate. The film stars Willem Dafoe as famed painter Vincent Van Gogh as he spends his time in self-imposed exile experimenting with his art and forming a tumultuous friendship with Paul Gaugin (Isaac).
The movie is suitably artistic and visually stunning given its subject matter. It also features an acclaimed lead performance by Dafoe who received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.
Annihilation (88%)
It seems when Isaac finds a director he works well with, he jumps at the chance to work with them again. Such is the case with Annihilation, which reteamed Isaac with visionary sci-fi director Alex Garland. The movie stars Natalie Portman as a scientist whose soldier husband goes missing while investigating an extraterrestrial sphere that has appeared on Earth. She then leads her own mission to search for her husband.
The sci-fi story is a mind-bending journey with a solid cast, some great genre moments, and mesmerizing visuals. It might not be what some audiences expected but it is a thrilling experience.
A Most Violent Year (90%)
Isaac can be a great supporting character, but there’s no denying how dynamic he is as a leading man. A Most Violent Year is a quiet and tense crime film that stars Isaac as a businessman trying to keep his company together amongst violence and heavy competition from outside sources.
Isaac is understated, but completely compelling as the calm but anxious man who is trying to keep his head above water. He is joined by some great supporting performances by Jessica Chastain and Albert Brooks.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi (91%)
After getting a smaller role in The Force Awakens, Isaac’s Resistance hero Poe Dameron got to share some more of the spotlight in The Last Jedi. The film follows Poe and the rest of the Resistance on the run from the First Order while Rey attempts to convince Luke Skywalker to join the fight.
At this point, it seems pointless to say that this movie was divisive, but most critics thought it was a triumph. While some fans might have problems with certain story elements, it’s hard to deny that Rian Johnson made some bold and exciting choices with the franchise which resulted in some brilliant moments.
Inside Llewyn Davis (92%)
Inside Llewyn Davis was the first high-profile project in which Isaac starred in the lead role. He also got the great opportunity to work with the Coen Brothers in this funny and depressing period piece about the folk music scene in the 1960s. Isaac plays the titular musician who is struggling to make it one his own after his music partner committed suicide.
Isaac is hilariously bitter and abrasive making for one of the most unlikeable yet fascinating main characters in recent film history. As expected, the Coens’ script is sharp, witty, and moving in all the right places and the music adds some beauty to the grungy tale.
Ex Machina (92%)
Isaac’s first collaboration with Alex Garland resulted in one of the best science-fiction movies of the last decade. Ex Machina stars Domhall Gleeson as an employee at a tech company who wins a chance to spend the weekend with the company’s reclusive founder (played by Isaac). After traveling to his isolated home, Isaac reveals he’s created a fully functioning A.I. being.
The small scale of the movie works perfectly for the intense, paranoid, and thrilling story. It is a constant guessing game of who is playing who until the brilliant climax. Isaac steals the show as the modern-day mad genius.
Drive (92%)
Drive is a movie that could have been a clichéd story we’ve seen countless times before, but the talent of those involved make it a mesmerizing crime saga. The film stars Ryan Gosling as a stunt driver who moonlights as a getaway driver. His closed-off existence is turned upside down when he falls for a neighbor whose husband (Isaac) is a convict.
Like the film itself, Isaac turns what could have been a stereotypical character into an interesting one. Gosling is compelling as the silent hero, the direction is sleek and the soundtrack is one of the best in recent memory.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (93%)
The world was introduced to Isaac’s Poe Dameron in The Force Awakens, giving birth to a new Star Wars hero. The film kicks off the brand-new trilogy in the franchise as The First Order threatens the galaxy and a new batch of heroes must team with the old heroes we love to defeat the Dark Side.
The movie pays loving homage to the original trilogy, welcoming back old favorites and introducing some great new characters. It sets up the promise of a new series of adventure which is set to come to an end with The Rise of Skywalker.
