Sound Of Metal

[Cap]

Discuss here. 

[filmlover]

This is pretty great. A nuanced look at deafness we don't see much of in the movies. Riz Ahmed gives the best performance of his already strong career so far and should receive an Oscar nomination. Phenomenal use of sound design too. A-

[Webslinger]

Headlined by an excellent leading performance from Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal is a powerful slice-of-life drama that succeeds in moving viewers and raising awareness of hearing disabilities in uniquely cinematic fashion. Director Darius Marder succeeds in creating a film that is both deliberately rough around the edges and disarmingly warm and intimate at just the right moments. Parts of the film work for their commitment to dark and challenging emotions and developments, while other parts work for the ways in which they tap into the characters’ humanity and score well-earned inspirational moments. The most heralded element of the film has been Riz Ahmed’s performance, and the acclaim is merited. I’ve been waiting for Ahmed to get a really big cinematic breakthrough ever since seeing his brilliant work on the 2016 limited series The Night Of, and he gets it with a very impressively committed performance here. As newly deaf drummer Ruben, Ahmed channels a wide range of emotions to convincing and compelling effect, delivering a lived-in performance all too easy to connect with in even the narrative’s toughest moments. Paul Raci is quietly powerful – and ultimately heartbreaking – as the operator of a group home that helps Ruben; their last scene together serves as a particularly haunting duet. Despite being missing from a large chunk of the running time, Olivia Cooke also does deeply affecting work as Ruben’s bandmate and lover. The sound design is also an essential and remarkably well-executed element of the film, as it successfully brings viewers into Ruben’s auditory experience on some occasions and contrasts this experience with a typical one for dramatic effect. Overall, it is a remarkably unique and moving viewing experience, and hopefully the relatively limited slate of new cinematic offerings will help it to gain traction with a wider range of viewers. 

 

A-

[Blankments]

Figured it might be nice to put my review from 2019's TIFF up here:

 

Sound of Metal is an exquisite look at a culture rarely depicted by film. Technically, this movie is excellent, with a great look to it that never forgets the importance of the story its telling while allowing intimate shots of the actors to let their performances really resonate. The sound design is appropriately the star here, going full into trying to depict the various stages of the main character's hearing loss.

 

However, that's not to say this isn't a performance piece. Ahmed is fantastic as Ruben, holding the movie together throughout the majority of it. Never leaving his side, the film totally gets within his frame of mind. Cooke is also excellent with the relatively small amount of screentime she gets, and Raci steals the show as the head of a deaf community with a slight sadness to him.

 

Marder's debut direction is well-done, but at points, falls into a cliche way of development. This is also the rare movie I wish could be a bit longer, as large chunks of Ruben's development into accepting his hearing loss are glossed over, not even given time in a montage to be shown. At 130 minutes, it feels like a nice steak, long but deservedly so; again, it wouldn't have hurt being longer.

 

Sound of Metal is a strong debut feature that takes a deep look at entrance into the deaf community and how much of our identity is formed by those around you. It's a smart movie for the most part, filled with truly great performances and an almost-too-tight script. A-

 

As a side note, the decision to present this as exclusively open-captioned is very much key to the film's success, and my hope would be any distributor that picks it up would keep that aspect of the presentation. Very good!