Sound of Metal is an American drama film directed by Darius Marder. It stars Riz Ahmed, Olivia Cooke, and Paul Raci in main roles. It was released on 4th December 2020 on Amazon Prime Video.
Ruben (Riz Ahmed) is a drummer who accompanies her singer girlfriend Lou (Olivia Cooke) in doing shows and small programs and they live a life in gypsy style living in an RV. Soon Ruben realizes that his hearing ability is drastically disappearing. After a meeting with a doctor, he gets to know that he has only 24% and 28% left of his hearing ability and that too is constantly degrading. The doctor tells him about implants that bypass the cochlea and the surgery would cost between $40,000 to $80,000. When Lou gets to know, she takes him to a deaf community or a facility run by Joe (Paul Raci) who tells him that he can't cure him, but they can make him live with deafness. In that facility, he meets many members of that deaf community and even spends time with the deaf students of a school, which affects him a lot and changes him as a person.
The story is by Darius Marder and Derek Cianfrance and the screenplay is Darius Marder and Abraham Marder. The writers did an extraordinary job in creating a lead character and a plot that majorly highlights Ruben dealing with the deafness, with so precision that you get invested in that character easily. The film never goes loud and flashy in portraying these feelings of losing one's hearing ability.
Here Ruben is a drummer, considering that his hearing ability is an important tool and as much as vital the way he beats the music out of drums, he tries to handle his nightmarish situation with stillness, though he breaks out many times, which at the same time, hurts you too. It's deep and very impactful.
Ruben's relation with Lou offers some of the light moments as lovers, apart from that it's very clear that they support and understand each other, and that's what forms the base of any relationship and that's what you see here which feels genuine and beautiful. Then there's Joe, who runs a facility, and he is deaf, is very optimistic and positive about anyone's flaws, and teaches you to accept yourself as you are, even the movie as a whole delivers that.
The film gives us an immersive experience, where none of the scenes seems false or fake, or even bland. The film delivers every moment and scene with perfection, be it technically or emotionally. There are many scenes where there is no music and the camera focuses only on the faces of the lead characters which brings out the inner feelings and state of mind so solid and real, that sometimes it hard to hold back the tears. The scenes where Ruben is spending time with his friends and the school students are the most heartwarming scenes and also between Ruben and Joe, and their hearty and genuine conversations and chats are the powerhouses of the film.
Well, the real powerhouse, or say the soul of the film is Riz Ahmed. Working in films like Nightcrawler, Rogue One, and Venom, he finally got what he truly deserves. His conviction for this role is visible in every frame. From learning to play the drums and to portray the lead deaf character so brilliantly, it will quite a surprise to see what he has next for us. He doesn't fall flat not even in a single scene and shows the state of character exceptionally.
Olivia Cooke as Lou, the girlfriend of Ruben, is very good. She didn't get that much screen time but she's effective in her scenes. Paul Raci as Joe is the most humane character here and has done an excellent job.
The cinematography by Daniël Bouquet is beautiful. It's not spectacular as there's no scope for that, but it wins in bringing alive the emotions of the characters even when they're just gazing or are just sitting, presenting a whole of the scene with almost no background music, and trust me, it's the most dominating and the loudest scenes. Even the sound design is worth mentioning, which conveys the state of Ruben by presenting it with muffled sound and unclear and incomplete conversations, which almost makes you feel bad for him. The sound design acts as the bridge between him and the viewers, letting you know about his inner nature and his psychological state.
Perfectly named, Sound Of Metal shows the best portrayals of a deaf person you'll have ever seen in any film and even delivers many heart-warming fragments, which will make you fall in love with the film. It conveys the message of self-acceptance and also to accept the one with flaws. Riz Ahmed has given a committed performance and undoubtedly the best of his career. Even with such a wild character, the writer did a commendable job to connect you with him and make you feel for him even you are not the 1% of what he's. The film moves very swiftly but sometimes drops a little too much, but everything is so perfect and flawless here that it hardly matters. Use your earphones for the best experience as the sound design also plays the crucial role.
Rating:- 4/5
Now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
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