Rating: R
Runtime: 2 hours
Director: Darius Marder
Quick Impressions:
I was a bit nervous to watch a film about a heavy metal drummer losing his hearing since every time I watch A Star Is Born, I get a flare up of tinnitus. (A viral inner ear infection a few years ago left me with periodic bouts of endolymphatic hydrops. Apparently, for me triggers are hormonal shifts, pressure changes, and watching Bradley Cooper lose his hearing in A Star is Born.)
I do love Riz Ahmed, though. (Well, “love” may be a strong word. I liked him in Nightcrawler, and I’ve liked him ever since.) Now that this performance has gotten multiple nominations and critics prizes for Best Actor, an Oscar nod seems almost sure to follow. After seeing the movie, I think that in another year, Ahmed might win Best Actor. I have a hard time believing this year’s winner won’t be Chadwick Boseman. I’ll be disappointed if Boseman doesn’t win since he won’t get another chance. But Ahmed certainly gives a worthy performance, making a character in an extremely niche situation highly relatable to anyone watching.
Ahmed’s Ruben isn’t just rapidly losing his hearing. He’s an actively touring heavy metal drummer losing his hearing. Not only that, but he’s a recovering heroin addict (with four years of sobriety), too. Plus, he’s in a serious relationship with a heavy metal singer who struggles with self harm. He also seems to have rage problems and issues with impulse control. So there’s a lot on his plate.
But that means Ahmed took on quite a bit by tackling this role. Just for a start, he learned how to play the drums (convincingly, like someone who does it for a living). He also learned American Sign Language. Cultivating a conspicuous new skillset is one of the best ways to get nominated for awards. But on top of this, Ahmed also gives a moving, impassioned performance, doing the kind of big, showy acting that would get him Oscar attention even if he didn’t master the drums and learn sign language. He has some lovely quiet moments, too.
In short, I’ll be stunned if Ahmed doesn’t end up with a nomination for Best Actor. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a supporting nomination for his co-star Paul Raci, either. Even a nomination for leading lady Olivia Cooke doesn’t seem outside the realm of possibility. Ahmed feels like a sure thing, though. He’s pretty amazing in this movie.
The Good:
The film begins with Ahmed’s character Ruben playing the drums as his girlfriend Lou (Olivia Cooke) scream-sings a heavy metal song at a concert performance.
The opening credits begin when the song ends. Until, Ruben’s fervor on the drums builds and builds and builds.
“I can see why Riz Ahmed is getting Oscar buzz,” my husband noted, “just from this scene. That was pretty intense.”
His comment made me think about the technical difficulty of the scene, the fact that Ahmed actually is playing the drums. Then I remembered poor Miles Teller who also did his own drumming in the 2014 Damien Chazelle film Whiplash and definitely deserved an Oscar nomination but didn’t get one (probably because he was overshadowed by that astonishing supporting performance by J.K. Simmons).
But Ruben’s story only gets more dramatic from there. Almost right away, he starts going deaf, and his condition deteriorates rapidly. As I feared, we experience near deafness along with him. Although I worried it would make my tinnitus worse, I enjoyed the way the film shifts back and forth (often in the same scene) from what Ruben hears to what his interlocutors hear. (If you’d like to imagine it now, they hear words. He hears muffled, nearly inaudible sounds.)
Ahmed makes Ruben so sympathetic. I loved both his moments of rage and his plucky resilience. His (practically delusional) idea that everything can be fixed if he just tries hard enough is very endearing. (And, to be fair, sometimes people do fix things by attempting the impossible enough times.) I also loved the way Ruben shouts at people after going deaf, the way he speaks in a loud, animated fashion as if everything were normal, and then when it’s the other person’s turn to talk, repeatedly yells, “I’m deaf! I’m deaf! I can’t hear you! I’m deaf!” It’s such a charming way of being deaf. It makes you really feel for the guy. You feel his distress and admire the panicked way he attempts to take it in stride.
In marked contrast, when Paul Raci’s character, Joe, shows up, he’s so calm, measured, serene. Without his initial disclaimer that he’s reading lips, you would never even know that Joe is deaf. (Raci is not actually deaf, but he is the child of deaf parents, which I find fascinating. I had a friend in elementary school whose parents were deaf, but she and her younger brother could hear. I remember going over to her house after school one time and observing how quiet it was. I asked if her parents didn’t make much noise in the house because they were deaf. She told me that her parents weren’t home, and I felt very stupid.) Raci makes Joe quite sympathetic, too. He seems so calm and centered, and it’s hard not to admire the way he has learned to accept his circumstances. He makes a good point. The past won’t change. Reality won’t change. But state of mind can change.
The other big presence in the film is Olivia Cooke as Ruben’s girlfriend, Lou. I remember liking Cooke when she played Art3mis in Ready Player One. (She’s great in the scene where she sneaks around. She makes the best faces as she sneaks around for like ten minutes trying not to get caught. In fact, that’s mainly what I remember about the film.) The mystery of her bleached eyebrows is a bit distracting, but Cooke’s performance is good. She’s playing someone unintentionally enigmatic, which is not easy to pull off without becoming vague and dull, which she avoids. (I had some specific things to note about the performance, but I think they’re too spoilery.)
Lauren Ridloff who is actually deaf makes a very positive impression as a school teacher at the compound/rehab center. Chelsea Lee and Jeremy Stone are deaf, too. In fact, most of the people at the compound are played by deaf actors. Probably the most joyous aspect of this film is the section in which we watch them happily interacting with one another, just like any other group of people. Sound of Metal presents deafness as a simple difference, not a life-ruining malady.
Very late in the movie, Mathieu Almaric shows up to make some eggs. His moments in the film are good because of just how disoriented we are at that point. Something terrible seems so likely to happen, but we never can figure out what. Meanwhile, Almaric makes a quietly impassioned speech and some fairly complicated eggs. (Well, they’re fancier than eggs I would serve, anyway.)
Best Scene:
To me the most chilling moment in the film comes during the hearing test with the first audiologist as the doctor reads off a list of words, and Ruben attempts to repeat them. It becomes clear in the consultation afterward that Ruben essentially fails to accept his situation (or even completely to understand it). He is obviously intending to embark on a course very unlikely to succeed. That early moment of foreshadowing gave me a pervasive sense of coming doom that concerned me for the rest of the film.
Best Scene Visually:
The moment on the slide stands out. Actually, every moment as Ruben begins to fit in at the compound (and especially at the school) is an absolute joy.
The final scene of the film is visual perfection. The fact that this scene gets its point across so clearly reflects how well the movie as a whole has worked.
Best Action Sequence:
I’m a fan of the scene in which Ruben smashes up the equipment in the van. His behavior is alarming and hard to defend but all too easy to understand. One of the things I like best about Ahmed’s performance is that it’s so multifaceted. In this moment, we get his rage and fear unleashed. We also see his passion emerge in his drumming. But at other times, he’s restrained and quiet, his eyes desperately searching for a solution, a way to prevent further pain.
Best Scene Aurally:
I adore the horrible, buzzing party scene near the end. This may be my favorite scene in the entire movie. Right away, it reminded me of the outdoor party in Get Out. The audience gets similar feelings of growing discomfort as Ruben realizes he doesn’t fit in, that instead of bringing him pleasure, the social gathering is literally causing him pain. (And his presence there is having the same unexpected effect on someone else.)
Most Oscar Worthy Moment, Riz Ahmed:
Ahmed is outstanding in every one of his scenes. His eyes channel such vulnerability and fear, yet his moments of intensity and rage seem so sincere as well. And let’s not forget he learned fluent ASL and to play the drums like he’s really in a metal band.
His final conversation with Joe may be his best moment, but he’s also great in his final conversation with Lou. He doesn’t have a bad scene.
Most Oscar Worthy Moment, Paul Raci:
Raci’s last scene is beautifully played and so heart-breaking. The observation he makes here about Ruben’s behavior rings very true.
The Negatives:
I found certain elements late in the story almost unbelievable. I know Ruben is unable to hear, frightened, and frustrated when he first visits the audiologist. He misunderstands about the cochlear bypass surgery, but it seems strange that no one ever corrects him or gives him any counseling about this procedure. Who is his doctor near the end, Nick Riviera from The Simpsons?!
Ususally with extremely high cost procedures, there’s a period of waiting and evaluation, and patients get a clear explanation of what results to expect and a time frame of recovery up front. Ruben’s behavior shows a lack of clear thinking, judgment, planning, and understanding. I’m rather stunned that he’s able to conceal the depth of his confusion. I would expect a doctor behaving ethically to find some of this out.
I also would have liked to have more background information about Lou earlier in the film. I know the movie is not actually about Lou, but her other life is so mysterious and comes as kind of a jarring shock at the end. (I’m sure that’s the point. It’s a shock for Ruben, too.)
I found some aspects of the story quite disconcerting, too, but that may be less a problem with the film than a problem with me. As the movie opens, Ruben has a functioning life. He has a partner of four years whom he loves. He has steady (if unconventional) employment. Making music and taking care of his girlfriend (providing her emotional support, preparing her a healthy breakfast) make his life worthwhile. Then he loses his hearing, and suddenly, everyone starts treating him like a criminal. Because he’s a recovering addict, he’s immediately put in rehab. If he doesn’t stay there, he’s seen as bad, a danger to himself. But he’s been sober for four years, not four weeks! The program there is obviously good for him, but when I watched him step away from it, I got a horrible feeling, like he was making a grave mistake, behaving badly. But why does he have to be there? I mean, if I suddenly go deaf, do I have to drive to another state, give up my family, and agree to live on a compound teaching deaf school children music? That’s a noble life, for sure, but I already have a life, and so does Ruben. I feel like everyone in the movie (and the movie itself) punishes him and shames him simply for making his own decisions. Going deaf is not a crime. Why is he suddenly stripped of autonomy and liberty? He’s treated as an addict having a relapse. And I agree that he’s behaving like an addict, sneaking around, making risky, ill-advised decisions, but I think that’s in part because they’re treating him like an addict. Ruben has a medical problem. He has gone deaf. But he’s not using heroin. I just find the situation frustrating because while I do believe he’s making poor choices, I also know that if someone suddenly treated me like a child and a prisoner and forced me into a dramatic life and career change simply because I lost my hearing, I’d be very resentful and bemused. I note this because as I watched, I was pleased when Ruben found meaning and happiness in the deaf community. I wanted him to stay there. But then I took a step back and questioned those feelings because the premise that he must be there in the first place is kind of a huge assumption. Is it really fair? Maybe the bigger problem is that his girlfriend (who obviously genuinely cares about him) has been wanting out of the relationship since before he went deaf. I wish knew more about her so this was clearer to me. Like I said, I’m not sure if this an issue with the movie or the viewer, but I thought I would mention it.
I’m also confused by the condemnation of Ruben’s habit of fixing things. I mean, yes, I get it. He thinks he can fix everything, and he devotes all his nervous energy to trying to fix things–his girlfriend, his hearing, the roof. And some things can’t be fixed. And that’s okay. And he needs to learn to accept what can’t be fixed. But why can’t he fix the roof? The roof can be fixed. You don’t have to accept a broken roof. Stuff like that is easily fixable.
Overall:
I found this movie depressing, but my husband did not. He sees the film’s overall message (and Ruben’s journey) as positive and encouraging. And actually, I agree with that. But watching him go through all that is still kind of harrowing. Sound of Metal does make deafness look like less of a burden than a gift, which is an uplifting spin on the subject. Addiction remains an ordeal, though, and relationships are hard. Though Sound of Metal is an excellent film featuring an outstanding lead performance by Riz Ahmed, I found it emotionally exhausting to watch. I’d still recommend it, though.