Every time I watched the trailer for Sound Of Metal (2019), I would just well up and want to cry. There’s something about Riz Ahmed as a performer and the vulnerability he expresses in this role. He plays a noise metal drummer Rueben Stone in a touring band with his partner, vocalist/guitarist Lou (Olivia Cook). At first, they might seem to live an idyllic ‘punk’ existence in a tour bus for two, playing shows across the country, but the sound mix drowns out their chit chat in a driving montage. Eventually the sound goes silent – Rueben suddenly stops hearing. The film is not simply about someone trying to deal with going deaf – the character is an addict, sober, who is struggling to hold onto a life that gave him a foundation for recovery. The film shifts to a deaf therapy group out in the woods and the group leader Joe (Paul Raci) who is patient yet firm in his ultimatums to helping Rueben learn sign language and to find a place as a deaf person. Even with a gratifying role in an accepting community, Rueben still rankles with desire for his past life, continually bargaining against acceptance. I thought Sound Of Metal was great. The thoughtful sound mix provides a subjective experience of the lead character while alternating with an objective perspective; it was very well done. Directed by Darius Marder and co-written by him and Abraham Marder, it patiently lays out Reuben’s journey, often shifting where you hope it might develop things more and sticking close to its protagonist’s hopes and follies. Where it goes might be inevitable (and maybe a bit schematic), but it also still affected me considerably. Ahmed is so present, the conflicts and struggles visible in the front he seeks to maintain to the world and himself. Raci is fantastic too, soulful and real in the scenes he and Ahmed share together; Raci is the hearing child to deaf parents but a signing ASL actor – he also fronts a Black Sabbath ASL tribute band apparently. Available to stream on Amazon Prime. Recommended.
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