Weekend Watch: Sound Of Metal

Riz Ahmed shines in a story of hearing loss, love and addiction

Image Credit: Amazon

Welcome to the latest edition of Weekend Watch, in which I recommend (or occasionally warn against) movies or TV shows I’ve been checking out. This week, Riz Ahmed rocks it as a punk with hearing trouble. 

There will be a lot of talk about Sound Of Metal’s superb sound design, a carefully crafted sonic experience that completely sells how Riz Ahmed’s character is affected by the hearing issues he starts to suffer; and to fill in the world around him. And that is most certainly worth an award or two. But what really, truly makes the film work is Ahmed himself, proving once again that he’s easily among the best of his generation. 

Ahmed plays Ruben, an itinerant punk-metal drummer who, during one of his typically intense gigs, starts to experience intermittent hearing loss. A specialist confirms his worst suspicions – the condition will only worsen. His bandmate and girlfriend Lou (Olivia Cooke knocking it out of the park when she is on screen and affecting even when she isn’t) checks him into a secluded sober house for the deaf. Because, oh yes, he’s also an addict who has dabbled in pretty much everything you can snort, smoke or shoot up. He’s been sober for a while, but Lou worries that he’ll relapse given the stress of his diagnosis. Worried that his career, and his life, might be over, Ruben struggles to adapt to his new situation, and driven by a desire to fund a risky experimental implant surgery he thinks will solve his problem, he has trouble fitting in with the other residents and students. Slowly, though, he finds more than he thought he would.

Director Darius Marder wrote the script with brother Abraham based on a story from Marder and fellow filmmaker Derek Cianfrance, and he’s crafted something here that gives the cast (which also includes Paul Raci as unflappable sober home boss Joe and a lot of talented deaf performers) moments that feel authentic just as much as they are dramatic. But it’s truly Ahmed’s film. He’s long proven that he can handle a variety of roles, and the troubled Ruben is a complicated mix of driven ego and vulnerable introvert. He throws himself fully into the part, finding nuances and anguish among the anger. It’s not a simple case of affliction or affectation, and the journey he goes on is constantly surprising. From anger to acceptance, from feeling like he’s chafing against everyone else’s opinion, to finding fresh connection in the world. But don’t go thinking that it’s all wrapped up in a neat bow by the end; this is still a human story, with all its foibles intact. 

And one more word about the sound design, which gives added insight into how Ruben’s condition progresses, but also serves a wider purpose, throwing you off guard at times and crafting a soundscape that is unlike almost anything else you’ll hear from a film. 

Sound Of Metal is no simple story of one man dealing with difficult changes in his life, it’s also a subtle lesson in how to cope yourself. There are realism and raw power permeating through the movie, and it is one that has stuck with me. 

Sound Of Metal will be in US cinemas on 20 November, ahead of a 4 December launch on Amazon Prime Video. The film is scheduled to arrive in UK cinemas on 29 January next year.