by Shane Conto
Who is ready to turn up the radio and bang your head?! Oh wait…this is not that kind of movie. Sound of Metal might be centered on the drummer of a metal band, but the story is one that is much more emotional and deep. What if a musician, whose whole career is about the sound that they can make, loses the sense that allows someone to appreciate it? The sense of hearing is so connected with music that it can be devastating to lose that connection. Sound of Metal is a dramatic odyssey about an artist who must find himself again when he loses something so important to him. So…a different kind of banger.
What is so essential to make a film with music at its core work?
The film needs to deliver a technical experience to make the audience feel exactly what their protagonist feels. The sound design on this film is astounding. The few scenes that feature the titular genre of music feel engrossing and bombastic…just like it feels to be at such an affair (I know from experience with the likes of Black Label Society). You can legitimately feel the ringing in your ear with how the film sounds. If that wasn’t convincing enough, the film delivers some of the most affecting soundscapes I have heard in a film. The moments where we hear the crushing silence that Ruben, our protagonist, experiences are uncomfortable in an effective way.
One particular plot revelation brings about a horrific audible experience for both Ruben and the audience alike.
Darius Marder, famous for his screenwriting on The Place Beyond the Pines, takes the place behind the camera for his former partner, Derek Cianfrance, and he sure delivers. Marder has quite the handle on the film as it takes its time in playing out the drama. The burning intensity under the surface of the drama as well as Ruben himself is captured by Marder’s steady hand.
Sound of Metal might take it’s time along the way, but Marder packs the film full of emotional punches and explosive realizations. The film is directed with such an accurate and methodical hand that each shot and frame feels like it was done with purpose. Marder is able to capture the intimate feelings of his actors with some beautiful and poignant shots.
Speaking of the actors, they deliver something special for their contributions to the film.
Sound of Metal relies heavily on the performance of Riz Ahmed, our protagonist Ruben. Ahmed is an absolute force in this film. He creates such intensity and physicality when he sits behind the drum set in those scenes. There are explosive moments of raw energy and emotion from Ahmed that are hard to watch and so impressively effective. One scene later in the film links to a revelation that drastically changes Ruben’s perspective on his journey and the silent emotion that Ahmed shows is devastating. Ahmed is a top contender for Lead Actor this awards season. Olivia Cooke portrays an essential character that bookends the film, but in those scenes she shows great emotion. The surprising performance that nearly steals the show is from Paul Raci who plays the leader of a community of people with hearing impairments. Raci gives an earnest performance throughout but one particular scene is incredibly impactful. This one scene carries such an emotional heft along with presenting a crucial crossroads for Ruben in his story. The back-and-forth between Ahmed and Raci is raw and moving.
Can anything else possibly bolster this already incredible feature coming to Amazon this fall?
The powerful and poignant messaging of the film will hammer the quality of this film home. The perspective that the films share on people who are deaf is something special. Sound of Metal is a moving and tense affair that will leave its audience emotionally impacted and thinking long after. Many awards buzz seems to be in the future for this new Amazon film.
Grade: A