Was this a 500,000 dollars mistake?

The purest form of storytelling in a loaded and compelling tale often buds from the absence of dialogues. It is the visual elements that are left as clues for the audience to stitch together and reveal an underlying story layered deep within the more obvious one.

The best example I can think of is Wall-E. The android had quickly, almost from the beginning scenes, had successfully laid out its past and present on a signboard for the audience. It was more than clear that the bot was an isolated character secluded from anything social and hidden away in a world that was detached from the reality we are aware of.

Unless your eyes were glued to Wall-E's beautiful box-shaped bum, there were plenty of visual clues laid out for us to quickly put two and two together. Signboards that advertised the travel pods, the abandoned gas station, and the roach. The only living thing which could survive a nuclear blast. And coincidentally, the only living thing Wall-E ever came across.

Not a single dialogue in the entire first half of the movie, and it was very clear what was happening. Incredible storytelling.

I personally think there was a lot more going on in "Don't look up" than many realized. Jason Orlean, played by Jonah Hill, was my favorite character in the movie. A very typical Jonah Hill kind of character. No one does this better than him.

A lot of times it felt like Jason Orlean was not a perfect fit for his position. The son of the president was also the personal assistant / right hand to the president. It was very clear that he was out of place but played along. Coz who wouldn't? It'd be awesome to live in shoes!

But over and over again the movie emphasized on something so small which could be totally ignored. Maybe they did it on purpose? Maybe there is a deeper story about Jason that they chose to narrate without dialogues?

The watch Jason Orlean was wearing in the movie is a Richard Mille 52 Skull Turbillion. A luxury watch that retails for well over $500k. Only 3000 Richard Milles are made every year and they are a very high-quality timepiece. The limited supply adds more and more value to the price tag.

Now, it makes sense for Jason to wear such an expensive watch. Anyone in that position can afford it, not to mention show it off! But the problem is...

IT'S A FAKE!

He wears the same watch in every scene. EVERY! Jonah Hill has since been under some scrutiny for the watch. It's not the first time he has been caught with a fake watch. But the thing is, this was a costume and not his personal watch.

So why would a $75 million movie cheap out on a costume?
Even if they cheaped out, why would they show it off so much?

There is something I'm missing here.

The budget clearly allows them to buy a real RM skull turbillion. Even if they did not want to buy one, there are plenty of retailers who would let them have it for the shoot in return for a shoutout. Plenty of rich fans would have loved to give Jonah Hill the watch for a shoot.

But the movie was made with a fake.

This makes me feel like the watch was part of a bigger story. It was deliberately shown off so many times and so clearly. The watch didn't need to be there. Jason could have worn a smaller watch and it would hide under his sleeve. But the fake Richard Mille was the watch of choice.

I have reached the conclusion that the fake watch was a metaphor. It was the gateway to understanding Jason Orlean. Jason is a very sly character. Moreover, he isn't loyal to anything. He is not loyal to his country, to his supporters, to the people that come for help, hell he hates doing his job.

He, however, loves the attention and power that comes with the job. He is loyal to only one thing: his mother.

This becomes very clear towards the end where he keeps repeating "she is coming back". Deep inside he knows he has been abandoned just like all the people have abandoned him. But he sticks to supporting his mother and sits there. I think he only did his white house duties simply because his mother was there as the president.

He didn't care about anything else except his mother. He did what his mother asked of him, and did whatever would please her. The scenes from the podiums are a good example.

So, the fake watch was just as sly as his character. Just as cheap and bogus as himself. All he wants is to support his mother and be beside her at all times. If that means wearing a nice suit and finding an expensive watch to match the position, then he'd do it. But he could care less about paying $500000 for a watch. After all, it's part of a costume he has to wear just to be next to his mother.

I think that was the story of Jason Orleans that the movie wanted to give us without dialogues.