Review: Sound of Metal

Riz Ahmed plays a heavy metal drummer and currently clean and sober drug addict, whose girlfriend is the lead singer of the band (Olivia Cooke). Ahmed starts to notice a problem with his hearing, affecting his ability to do his job as a drummer. Before long, his hearing is almost totally gone and Cooke (who has her own struggles in life) is worried that Ahmed’s going to relapse on top of that. He’s taken to a secluded rehab centre for the deaf run by Joe (Paul Raci), and has to adhere to the facility’s strict rules including no contact with Cooke. Meanwhile, Ahmed is trying to gather the money to pay for a cochlear implant. Lauren Ridloff plays a deaf school teacher, whilst Mathieu Amalric plays Cooke’s father.

 

Some rather wrong-headed (or at least poorly explained) messaging doesn’t stop this film from being one of my favourite films of 2020. In the end I think what’s very good about the film is good enough to make it a real winner. However, as a disabled person myself and the relative of someone who had a cochlear implant for several years, the stance characters take on the issue of cochlear implants…is weird to say the least. I’ll get that thorny issue out of the way first. I think the point was simply at Paul Raci’s retreat they have strict rules and credo about pro sign language and accepting deafness rather than an outright bias against implants. However, I think implants and sign language achieve the same damn purpose so it seemed like a rule for the sake of having one. The drug addict analogy didn't quite work for me as a result. So that kinda stuck in my craw, but there’s a whole lot to like here and what I didn’t like may not bother you (It did receive criticism from the cochlear community, however).

 

Written and directed by Darius Marder, he takes a lot on here as the chief protagonist is a metal drummer, going deaf, and he’s an addict as well. A lot of movies would just tackle one of these things, but Marder juggles several things and does it all really well. I like the film’s matter of fact treatment of the issues at hand here. There’s no preaching, no patronisation, and few clichés. Marder gets the sentiment balance just right, never getting syrupy, though the character’s world including heavy metal and drug use probably demands a few rough edges anyway. Lead actor Riz Ahmed is the anchor holding it all together and its chief asset. I’m not surprised he was Oscar nominated, and frankly I think he’s more impressive than eventual winner Sir Anthony Hopkins for “The Father”. You can’t help but feel for this guy, he’s legitimately freaked out – his whole world and profession is music, he needs the ability to hear, and he also doesn’t understand sign language – Ahmed excellently conveys the fear, frustration, the denial, and above all else the feeling of helplessness and loneliness of not being able to hear or communicate effectively.

 

Ahmed is backed up by a top-notch cast, especially Olivia Cooke whose absence of an Oscar nomination here is criminal. Almost unrecognisable (with admittedly very distracting and strange eyebrows), Cooke absolutely disappears into her character with a practically flawless performance. Musician/actor Paul Raci (whose weathered, lived-in features provide an assist) gives a wonderful turn mixing no BS tolerance with gravitas and the right amount of compassion. I may not have always understood his character’s point of view, but I cannot fault the performance one bit. The son of deaf parents himself, Raci fully deserved his Oscar nomination relying basically on just facial expression alone. I also want to make mention of the excellent mute performance by a former Miss Deaf America named Lauren Ridloff, who is totally charismatic. She’s a damn star if you ask me. I also want to commend the excellent sound design, that really helps put you in Ahmed’s rather scary and frustrating predicament. It’s expertly done.

 

I really like this film. It’s not exactly complex, but it’s a great story, well-told and well-made in every respect. I still don’t quite know how to feel about the film’s stance on cochlear implants, but I can’t deny that this is one of the best films of its year. I was really impressed and ultimately moved.

 

Rating: B+