A cacophony of sound washes over the audience as electric guitar feedback and muffled vocals buzz over the sound of drums in a crowded club. This is the beginning and the end of one musician’s career. Sound of Metal was on my radar when it first had its limited release and then for some reason, just didn’t get around to it in a timely fashion. I’m glad I finally did because Riz Ahmed’s exceptional performance leads the way in a deeply, emotionally-layered story about adaptation in the face of adversity.
Ruben (Ahmed) is a drummer in a heavy metal band and a recovering drug addict. Their musical careers are just starting to take off, but his sudden hearing loss sends him spiraling into desperation to hold on to the life that he knows.
This was an incredibly ambitious feature debut for director Darius Marder, but the contextual framing makes it more resonant than just the story of a musician who has gone deaf. Derek Cianfrance and Arthur Marder helped co-write the script that focuses on the idea that deafness isn’t something to be fixed despite the lead character’s desire to do just that. In that space, Ruben’s experience is synonymous with any circumstance that causes major upheaval in life.
The decision to include a wide group of deaf performers helped cultivate authenticity for Ruben’s journey and showed respect for the subject matter by the filmmakers. While not deaf himself, Paul Raci was raised by deaf parents and is fluent in sign language so, his character, Joe, embodies the spirit of deafness as something to adapt to not something to fix. In many ways, their paternal relationship is the most emotional in the film and Raci was excellent.
As I said, Ahmed is fantastic and absolutely deserving of his Oscar nomination for Best Actor. Not only did he learn American Sign Language for the role, but he also spent seven months learning the drums for his character. He’s been a standout performer for a while now, but this film really gave him a chance to showcase his ability. Opposite him, Olivia Cooke continues to diversify her portfolio as Ruben’s girlfriend and bandmate, Lou, who has plenty of her own baggage. She’s strong during the rawest moments of emotional strife and a good opposite number to Ahmed.
So much of the focus is on the sound design of the film, which was nominated for Best Sound and is geared towards mimicking Ruben’s experience as much as possible, and rightfully so. It’s very clever and creative, and I appreciate the effort, but the sound mixing wasn’t very good from the beginning. Even before Ruben’s hearing actually starts (about 12 minutes in) I had to turn the subtitles on just to understand the normal dialogue.
This was a good, original film that has its best success in the hands of its capable lead actor. *It is might be one of the best movies of 2020 and, as of now, I don’t know that I could name 10 better films. *As I’ve seen more of the Best Picture offerings, I can confidently say Sound of Metal is near the top of the heap.
Recommendation: See it for Ahmed’s performance, the sound design, and the wholly human journey.