Sound Of Metal Movie Review (2019)
A drama about a heavy metal drummer whose sudden hearing loss forces him to confront a completely different way of experiencing the world, Sound of Metal is a deeply affecting and immersive film, with phenomenal performances, extraordinary sound design, and a nuanced exploration of the Deaf community.
My mother was an elementary school teacher for hearing-impaired students during my entire childhood and beyond. I would go to school with her occasionally and made a number of friends in her class. I learned some basic ASL and could see how her class instructions differed from my own, but I had no real appreciation for what it meant to be part of the Deaf community. After all, I was still hearing, and I was young. I had no inherent frame of reference. The Ultimate Playlist Of Noise, Midnight, and Coda are the first films I’ve seen that made a real impact on my perception in this area, and I’d been saving this movie for when I was in the exact right mood to appreciate what it might be.
Sound Of Metal is about recovering addict Ruben, a heavy metal drummer in a band with his girlfriend, Lou, who suddenly begins to lose his hearing. Scared and unsure, he sees an audiologist who explains to him that, although Ruben is desperate to get his hearing back, his real job is to do what he can to keep the little hearing he has left. Full of anger and rebellion, Ruben eventually tells Lou what is happening, and she, scared that he will relapse, helps to find him a rehab for the deaf. There, he meets director Joe, who begins to show Ruben a different way of life, whether he likes it or not.
This is a spectacular film that I wasn’t prepared for. It is raw and powerful in all its elements, and the longer the movie went on, the deeper my emotional experience became.
Olivia Cooke is very good as Lou, but the two male stars are on another level. Riz Ahmed is stunning as Ruben. This is a man who bottles his emotions until they seep out through the cracks. The subtlety with which Ahmed is Ruben includes a simmering anger and seething that makes you uncomfortable because you experience much of it right through the screen. He is deeply human and terrified, desperately trying to keep a hold of his life while being forced into something he has very few choices about. He is heartbreaking and extraordinary to watch.
Paul Raci is his counterpart as Joe, a man who has lived through addiction and the demise of his family, along with a difficult history, and has found peace in his deafness and his community. As a mentor, he can’t make Ruben want what he has, but Raci’s vulnerability and gentleness carry you along through to one crucial scene when your heart is broken right along with him.
The sound design in Sound Of Metal is unlike any other film I’ve seen. With Ruben losing his hearing, the film attempts to help you understand what he is experiencing. Between high-pitched feedback, the flooding of sound in and out, machine-interpreted voices, and complete silence, you are immersed in Ruben’s world. But at the same time, the film allows you to experience what a hearing person would, with a table full of deaf people communicating through ASL, but making noises with their movements or utensils. It is a masterful explanation of the two different worlds.
There is also a rich introduction to the Deaf community for those of us who are unfamiliar. As a hearing person, most of us believe that losing our hearing would be devastating. But Sound Of Metal displays what an extraordinary world there is for people who are deaf. There is a peace and softness that the hearing can’t understand. This is the first time I have been able to deeply understand the debate and division around cochlear implants. Deafness isn’t something to be fixed, it is a whole other way of being and deserves fierce respect.
This is the kind of film that one can’t do justice to in print. I can tell you that Sound Of Metal is riveting, the performances are extraordinary, and the authenticity is off the charts, but it’s not enough. Watch this movie. It’s transformative.
Runtime: 121 minutes
Motion Picture Rating: R
Languages Spoken In The Film: English and French with English subtitles
Should You Watch It? Yes, definitely
Did I Cry? No, but I was heavily emotional
My Rating: 5/5 Stars
Available: Free on Amazon Prime
