Danielle Solzman
Riz Ahmed delivers a captivating performance as a heavy metal drummer that is beginning to lose his hearing in Sound of Metal.
Within the film’s opening minutes Ruben (Riz Ahmed) is experiencing hearing loss. At the beginning, the loss is intermittent but as any musician knows from experience, it will only get worse. This is exactly what happens as the plot moves forward. However, technology has advanced to where Ruben is set on pursuing a cochlear implant for his ears. In Ruben’s case, he’s not just a musician but he’s a recovering heroin addict and has been sober for four years. Because of his heroin addiction, Ruben’s girlriend and bandmate, Lou (Olivia Cooke), decides to check him into a sober house for the deaf. Is this in Ruben’s best interest? Only time will tell.
The other members of the community welcome Ruben in. House manager Joe (Paul Raci) sees to it that he lives by the rules. Ruben starts learning ASL and even deaf children how to play drums. Even though it takes him time to get acclimated, Ruben still wants his old life back. The cochlear implant won’t be the be all-end all given that the sounds are going to be distorted. At the same time, there is a chance that Ruben might never be able to play drums again.
This is a passion project for filmmaker Darius Marder with a script in the works for over a decade. It shows throughout the entire picture as Marder takes us into Ruben’s head. Marder makes sure to cast members of the deaf community. Nicolas Becker’s sound design should be an awards contender in a year where the usual suspects are getting a theatrical delay. The sound design accompanying Sound of Metal is among the most exquisite to accompany any film in 2020. Don’t adjust the volume on your TV because this is intentional on the part of the filmmakers. They want the audience to the sounds of the film as Ruben hears them. At times, we’re hearing nothing but silence or muffled silence because this is how Ruben is hearing the world around him.
In terms of casting, the film mostly focuses on deaf actors. In some instances, however, Marder looked outside the deaf community. Paul Raci grew up as the son of two deaf parents and like his character in the film, he is also a Vietnam veteran.
This is a film that first premiered last year during the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival. In a perfect world, Amazon Studios would have released it this past summer. Alas, Covid-19 happened and the film is playing an extended festival run on the circuit.
DIRECTOR: Darius Marder
SCREENWRITERS: Darius Marder & Abraham Marder
CAST: Riz Ahmed, Olivia Cooke, Paul Raci, with Lauren Ridloff and Mathieu Almaric
