Tom Cruise wears an IWC Pilot's Watches

David Aames inherited a publishing empire, sleeps with whoever he wants, and has never once met a consequence until a jealous ex drives them both off a bridge. Cameron Crowe directed Vanilla Sky (2001) as a remake of Alejandro Amenabar's Open Your Eyes, and the film bends from romantic drama into science fiction as Aames's reality fractures after the crash leaves him disfigured. Cruise plays the early scenes with the careless charm of a man who has always been beautiful, and the later ones with the desperation of someone discovering that beauty was the only thing holding his life together.

The watch on his wrist is an IWC Mark XV, a pilot's watch built on functionality and a clean military display, black and white, in a 38mm steel case. It is a jarring thing to find here, a stark legible tool watch dropped into a film built on grand questions about life and art, and the mismatch is exactly what makes it land. The 38mm case wears smaller than the fashion of 2001 demanded, which gives it a quiet confidence. Aames could strap on anything money can buy. He wears the equivalent of a well-made tool.