Review: Sound of Metal

Available to stream on Amazon Prime Video, Sound of Metal needs to be your next watch. Prepare to have your entire outlook about hearing loss and the deaf community changed for the better. This film is not only a great movie as a whole, but it explores a different side of the deaf community that Hollywood hasn't really touched on.

The Plot

Sound of Metal follows Ruben, a talented drummer for a heavy metal band, who is traveling in an RV with his girlfriend/bandmate as they tour around the country. One day, he wakes up and his hearing is almost completely gone. He tries to ignore it, but ends up going to a doctor, who tells him that he has already lost 25% of his hearing and it could be a few days before he loses it completely. Ruben, with the emotional support of his girlfriend, looks to a deaf community for guidance as he awaits enough money to have surgery and fix what little hearing he has left.

The Performances

Oh. My. God. This film had some of the best acting of the year. Riz Ahmed, our leading man, has delivered an Oscar-worthy performance. His role in Nightcrawler will be known as his career-launching role, but this performance just established him as one of Hollywood's brightest talents. We follow him as he goes through the denial and emotional breakdown of someone who has lost his hearing and must learn how to live life without it. It's so powerful, I got teary-eyed a couple times watching him go through this process and that is all on Ahmed's incredible performance. Olivia Cooke delivered an great performance as his girlfriend, Lou, but it was the actors of the deaf community that really blew me away. Paul Raci, a well-known advocate for the deaf in real life, plays Joe, the former alcoholic and leader of the deaf community that takes Ruben in. The fellow deaf community members, who were mostly all deaf in real life, truly delivered in their roles. It makes me happy knowing that the director, Darius Marder, insisted on deaf actors to offer proper representation.

How the Film uses Sound

The film uses sound in a genius fashion. We are given glimpses into Ruben's mind along the way as we hear what he hears and feel his gradual frustration. The film also does not give sign language any subtitles until Ruben learns it, so we feel his frustration with living in a deaf community without knowing sign language yet. The movie doesn't keep us in Ruben's head for long, but we get just enough of it to fully understand his progress as his hearing constantly gets worse.

How it Changed my Perspective

How it portrayed the deaf community was something that really stuck with me. I read an interview with the actor who played the community leader, Paul Raci, and it really opened my eyes. He grew up with both parents being deaf and recalls how much they've hated how deaf people are portrayed. How much they dislike how movies make deafness seem like a disability and how it's all about "fixing it." The movie shows that, in reality, the deaf community is incredibly keen in making sure that their members do not see themselves as disabled. Sure, they have to learn a different kind of lifestyle, but it shouldn't defeat their outlook on life. I got so emotionally attached to every member of this deaf community. The way they all supported each other, and the way they went on with life without letting their lack of hearing impede their strive for happiness made me very happy to witness. The film also touched on how easy it is for deaf people, especially people who become deaf later in life, to fall victim to addiction. Not many films, if any, have touched on that.

It was an eye-opening, touching, but all-around important film experience and you should watch it ASAP.