Sound of Metal - Review

This piece was written for the Screen & Story Film Festival.

As I sat endlessly scrolling through films to watch the other night I came across one which I had been wanting to see for a while. For those of you who haven't already heard of Sound of Metal it centres on the life and struggles of Ruben, a heavy-metal drummer, who loses his hearing and has to learn to live with his newly discovered impairment. The lead role is played by the remarkable British Pakistani actor Riz Ahmed who is widely known for his roles in Nightcrawler and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Ahmeds’ performance in Sound of Metal is so raw and convincing it unsurprisingly led to an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role at the 2021 Academy Awards. Even though there are so many great aspects of the film this alone would be enough to recommend watching it.

Something I love about films is their ability to make you think about things that perhaps you have not yet considered and Sound of Metal definitely achieved this for me. Not only does the film allow the viewer insight into the eerily silent world of deafness but it also makes you realise how much of human communication is based on sound. When Ruben lost his hearing it was astounding to witness how his ability to interact with others was either frustratingly laboured or broke down in its entirety. However, through an intense immersion into a rural shelter which helps deaf recovering addicts, he finds solace in his new-found friends and their ability to communicate through sign language and lip-reading. After watching the film it really made me feel like learning sign language in schools or even as adults is something that should be taken more seriously globally as I researched that (from a 2017 statistic) around 11 million people in the UK alone suffer from deafness or hard-of-hearing. I am ashamed to say I hadn't thought much of this impairment before watching Sound of Metal, yet this film really opened my eyes to its realities and tribulations and for that I am very grateful.

Riz Ahmed and Paul Raci star in Sound of Metal, streaming now on Amazon Prime.

Perhaps the most impressive and ingenious aspect of the film for me, however, was the sound. From the outset of the film the sound felt so meticulously curated to immerse the viewer in the unfolding of Rubens’ life and his newly-found deafness. Yet, although we follow Rubens’ story, the power of the sound in this film puts the spectator in the driver's seat and it is as if we are discovering our own deafness first-hand. Never have I felt a movie experience to be more affected or captivating on account of the sound than this one. Unfortunately, I don't think I could effectively describe the sound and effects used so instead i would suggest watching the movie yourself. If I were to give you one tip before watching the film for the first time I would say to watch it in the highest audio definition possible. When I rewatch the film I will watch it either in a cinema environment or with sound-cancelling headphones to fully embrace the incredible job achieved by the sound design and edit teams.

Overall I would highly recommend the film based on the acting, its thought-provoking nature and the incredibly immersive experience that the sound creates. Immediately after the film I whipped out my trusty IMDB app and rated it a solid 8/10. The film has since been rated with a 7.8/10 on the website and has been awarded 2 oscars, another 79 wins and 158 nominations; if that doesn't tell you something then I don't know what will.

I sincerely hope you watch it!

Sound of Metal is streaming now on Amazon Prime, Click here to watch.