‘Serenity is no longer wishing you had a different past...’
Imagine how it feels to devote your life to something, only for that thing to be cruelly taken from you. The budding footballer who has their career ended by injury. The artist that loses their sight. Or in the case of Sound of Metal, the musician that loses their hearing. It must be an unfathomable tragedy. As the only thing that I have devoted my life to is the Subway footlong Melt, it’s difficult for me to relate. Luckily, writer/director Darius Marder has produced a film that allows a fascinating insight into the world of the hard of hearing…
Recovering addict and professional heavy metal drummer Ruben (Riz Ahmed) is thrown into disarray when he suddenly loses 75% of his hearing. Forced to quit music and embark on a journey of self discovery, Ruben turns to others suffering from the same condition, namely Joe (Paul Raci) and his special centre for the hard of hearing.
There are two things here that ensure that Sound of Metal is a worthy Best Picture nominee. One of them is Riz Ahmed and the other is the sound design. The former puts in a doggedly excellent performance, perfectly capturing the highs and lows of a world turned upside down. Ahmed is able to convey extreme emotion without a single sound – a rare talent for any actor – and it is this ability that ensures that the audience doesn’t feel too alienated during the long sequences with no audible dialogue. Marder doesn’t take it too easy on us though, he wants to feel the disorientation that the hard of hearing experience in the ‘normal’ world, something that he executes perfectly.
Sound of Metal is a jarring, uncomfortable but ultimately rewarding film. Go see it.