Sound of Metal

Darius Marder’s Sound of Metal is a film that will offer a great deal of comfort to many who watch it. For some it will be a harrowing experience, but one that offers hope, and the possibility that no matter how horrible a hand we’re dealt, there’s a way to find peace with it. It’s a film that could’ve been loaded with clichés, and instead finds away around each one at every turn, mostly with something far more simple and kind, and real. It’s one of the best films of the year. More importantly, it would have one of the best films of a normal year.

Sound of Metal follows Ruben (Riz Ahmed), a drummer and one half of a metal band with the singer, his girlfriend, Lou (Olivia Cooke). They live in a RV while driving across the country to perform small gigs, a lifestyle they clearly enjoy. That all changes when Ruben begins to suddenly lose his hearing. After performing a hearing test, it’s determined that Ruben can only successfully hear 20-30 percent of words and that his hearing will continue to deteriorate rapidly. He may be able to get cochlear implants to correct it. However, the implants are very expensive and are not covered by insurance. Lou finds out what’s going on and wants to stop performing for Ruben’s sake and safety. More importantly she’s also concerned about his sobriety, as the two of them are recovering addicts. They call his narcotics’ sponsor who finds a place for deaf recovering addicts that accepts Ruben. It’s a rural community run by a man named Joe (Paul Raci), a recovering alcoholic who lost his hearing in the Vietnam War.  Lou isn’t allowed to stay, forcing Ruben to confront his newfound problems head-on. What at first seems impossible, eventually becomes something Ruben didn’t expect.

There are so many moments in this film where I thought I knew what was going to happen next. It practically shoves the cliché in your face, and makes you anticipate the inevitable narrative progression, only to stop short, and fall back into serenity. I anticipated that Ruben would regress so many times, or that he’d have to overcome various human obstacles of acceptance. Instead, the film reminded me of the under-seen Leave No Trace, where the only obstacles the protagonist encounters, are his own inabilities to accept help, or find a moment to appreciate the silence. Watching scenes of Ruben bonding and learning with his new deaf community are life-affirming, such as a lovely moment where he plays a drum-like beat on a metal slide for a young deaf person to experience the vibrations.

Riz Ahmed gives the best performance of his career, beating out his amazing work in the miniseries, The Night Of. The performance isn’t just great because he’s believable as a drummer, or a person who’s able to learn sign language, or a former addict. It’s a great performance because his conflict between accepting his new way of life, or surrendering to its hardships is on his face in every scene. Olivia Cooke is equally brilliant. Her Lou is in over her head, but her biggest emotions come from her love of Ruben and her concern for him. There’s a great scene between the two late in the film, where another form of acceptance must be realized – Ahmed and Cooke make it heartbreaking. I also must single out Paul Raci, who I’ve never seen in anything before. I’m not even sure if he’s an actor his performance is so good. He, like Cooke, has a powerful late scene with Ahmed, full of calm guilt.

The way in which Marder and his sound team present Ruben’s hearing is nothing short of outstanding. It’s at first frightening and frustrating, disappointing, and eventually soothing, following the mindset of Ruben’s character. If this film is nominated for awards, and it should be, the sound design should take home some gold at the very least.

Sound of Metal is more that though. It’s a film that will make you appreciate the simple sounds you hear. More importantly, it will make you appreciate the choice you have to drown them out.

Grade: A