A review of the upcoming Amazon Prime film that has received six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture.
By Miguel de la Cal Moreno
Anyone that has ever listened to Simon and Garfunkel knows hypnotic and impressing the sound of silence can be. In a way, this is the narrative thread behind Sound on Metal, whose sound design was prepared two years before shooting began.
The film is the story of heavy metal drummer Ruben’s (Riz Ahmed) fight with himself after losing his hearing while on tour with his partner Lou (Olivia Cooke). He first reluctantly decides to stay in a deaf community ran by Joe (Paul Raci) and come to terms with the loss of his means to express himself, artistically and literally. But the hope that an operation will give him back his hearing looms over his mind, preventing him from settling down.
Magnificently acted, with stellar performances by Ahmed, Cook and Raci, the film gives an intimate account of loss and love, for people and music. The film uses a formal language of silence and stillness that allows us to calmly admire the journey of Ruben, and the lives of deaf people, who are rarely represented on the big screen. The film manages to build quiet moments of intimacy through empty shots of the sky, the drum duets on a children’s playground, and others that I would rather not spoil.
Sound of Metal is one of the most interesting films of the year, but if you decide to see it, do it with a worthy sound system to not miss any of the surprising nuances silence can have.
Sound of Metal is available to watch on Amazon Prime from April 12th.
