Sound of Metal: Hard Rock, Soft Hearts

Darius Marder’s Sound of Metal is finally available to the public, over a year after its premiere at TIFF in 2019. The film stars Riz Ahmed, Olivia Cooke, and Paul Raci. It tells the story of a heavy metal drummer, Ruben (Ahmed), who must adapt to his recent, and worsening, hearing loss. This may be Marder’s first feature in the director’s chair, but his film is filled with the confidence, ingenuity, and heart of a veteran filmmaker. Riz Ahmed’s performance is an echo of that direction; an actor who fully embodied the effects of irreversible and painful change to moving results.

DISCLAIMER: Spoilers from here on out. You have been warned.

The beginning immerses us into the world of Ruben and his girlfriend, Lou (Cooke.) Their heavy metal concert is loud and chaotic, but to Ruben, it’s percussional bliss. We get glimpses into their lives on the road- the empty parking lots, green smoothies, and vinyl records. It’s not much but it doesn’t seem to matter. Comfort is found in their shiny silver Airstream and in each other’s company. This comfort is quickly disrupted- Ruben can’t hear anything. He meets with a doctor who’s very frank. He tells Ruben he’s lost about 70-80% of his hearing, and soon, all his hearing capabilities will be gone. During this meeting, Ahmed displays frustration and shock effortlessly, deflecting his diagnosis with denial and a belief that surgery will fix everything. Everything will go back to normal. He will drum again. Lou doesn’t see that as the case. She sends him to a deaf learning/ rehab facility, where hearing impaired people also work on controlling their drug addictions. Joe (Raci), the man in charge, becomes the vessel into this new world Ruben finds himself in.

A lot of his time there is a back-and-forth of acceptance and denial. He learns sign language and interacts with deaf children at a nearby school. He communicates with those he meets and enjoys their company. But even as he adapts to his new life, he looks for opinions on surgery, sells off his items, including the Airstream, to pay for surgery, and finally, does get cochlear implants to fix his hearing. The only problem- the surgery basically fixed nothing at all. If anything, it caused more issues for him. Because of his operation, Joe kicks him out of the facility, he has nowhere to live, and his hearing sounds completely mechanical and incoherent. The only thing Ruben can consistently hear is sharp buzzes and muffled voices. As we get to the end, Ruben simply accepts the fact his hearing will never be the same, or good, and decides to take out his implant devices. He sits in silence, and it seems for the first time in the entire film, he has peace.

THE GOOD

The film is not only about drumming and hearing loss. If anything, it takes a backseat to explorations of addiction, acceptance, alienation, and the pain of loss that leaves us scarred both mentally and physically. The sound mixing and design, done by Nickolas Becker, is able to capture beautifully the alienation Ruben feels during the film, with the buzzing hiking up during times Ruben “feels” his deafness the most, when he feels out-of-place. It is especially present in even the most mundane of activities for Ruben, further showing the impact his deafness has on every aspect of his life. As I said earlier, Ahmed doesn’t give a false beat. Every moment is earned, confidently capturing Ruben’s shock, frustration, discomfort, and eventually, acceptance. I also believe this film is perfect for a pandemic. Wearing headphones at home, for me at least, really elevated my experience of the film for the better.

THE BAD

I don’t think anything was bad, however, I think the film is a little overlong. It's only two hours but some moments can drag. I don’t fully think it was to the film’s overall detriment. If anything, it may help some viewers really immerse into Ruben’s world more. Just for me, some things felt redundant.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Come for the drumming. Stay for the wonderful performances, confident filmmaking, and original sound design. It is a great film to watch at home. I recommend it fully. It is now available on Amazon Prime Video.