Sound of Metal (2020) Review

THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

They say we become lost when we lose things we hold dearly, but sometimes it can be an awakening for us.


PLOT


2020’s Sound of Metal follows recovering addict Ruben Stone who is on the road via RV as a drummer with his singing girlfriend Lou, who are part of a metal band. Ruben goes through a drastic change when he discovers his hearing to be deteriorating rapidly. He does do research of cochlear implants that can benefit him, but his insurance won’t cover the expensive cost. When Lou finds out of his situation, she prefers to stop performing for his safety but he refuses to do so. Concerned for his sobriety, she reaches out for his sponsor’s help who finds a shelter for deaf addicts ran by Joe, a recovering addict who lost his hearing in the Vietnam war. Ruben doesn’t like the idea of living without her, but she chooses to leave so he can stay. During his stay, he does befriend schoolteacher Diane (Lauren Ridloff) and does well in learning ASL, but he still remains interested in getting the implants. He even uses Joe’s computer without his permission to check on Lou and make an appointment for the implants. He’s able to make money by selling his music equipment and RV. After the surgery does he ask Joe for a loan to get the Rv back and asks to stay until the implants are activated. He refuses due to believing he’s acting like an addict and instead kicks him out, found on the belief deafness is not a handicap. By the time the implants are activated, Ruben travels to Paris to see Lou again. He meets her wealthy father Richard (Mathieu Amalric) who confides that he respects him making his daughter happy when she was away. When reuniting with Lou, he sees that she’s settled into her new lifestyle and has ceased past attempts of self harm. Although the implants are going through distortion, Ruben shows support when she performs a duet with her dad at a party. Afterwards, he does express the idea of doing again, she does scratch her hands again as she claims to be interested. Before going to bed, they both address how much they saved each other’s lives. By morning, he chooses to leave her while she sleeps and when he roams around a public park, the film ends with him having his moment of stillness recommended by Jim, removing his implants to embrace sitting in silence. 


THOUGHTS

At the time of this film’s release, I made a hilarious assumption from the poster that this would be some kind of companion piece to Whiplash. Looking past that misunderstanding, I’m able to understand this was nothing like that. At the end of the day, Director and cowriter Darius Marder is able to create a much different experience. The sound really was its own character here in order to give a realistic perspective on what being deaf really feels like. The editing of it all is so effective in projecting how it all sounds to slowly deteriorate unbeknownst to those who have gone through it. Through a one man show perform by Riz Ahmed, we’re able to click with the story’s message to how life can be better when accepting change no matter how drastic because denial doesn’t solve anything at all. Ahmed is outstanding as Ruben because you want to root for him to have things his way and you sympathize the loss he’s going through, but his fear that pushes that people away is where he makes it challenging for himself to adapt. He doesn’t feel like an addict since he wasn’t using, but his decision to sell his Rv and equipment to pay off the cochlear implant gets the point across addicts will do anything to get what they want. I did feel and seeing him get kicked out, but it was honestly for the best because rejecting the new normal was where he made it harder for himself. Even if he had a point the world goes on should he not exist, that doesn’t mean he couldn’t make the best of the time he had left. Earning his first Oscar nomination alongside Ahmed, real life CODA and ASL advocate Paul Raci was goddamn spectacular as Joe because he’s more about being nurturing than wise. Knowing what he’s been through, he gets exactly how scared Ruben was and did his best to get through to him until he accepted he just couldn’t. Their last conversation is honestly a great acting lesson to look back on because it’s just so raw to see two people with different opinions truly unfold. Again, Joe did the right thing in kicking him out because allowing him to stay would’ve just been an insult to his beliefs and anyone else who would’ve taken notice of Ruben’s decision would’ve felt the same. It still takes a while for Ruben to accept change, but it was one person he cared about that eventually helped him do so. Olivia Cooke was quietly stunning in her given time as Lou because while she became so close to Ruben for sharing artistic visions, she chose to be loyal in putting her foot down as well that he needed to make the right changes for himself. Her choosing to leave was harsh, but it was for the best because she couldn’t bare seeing him self destruct. Since she had lost her mom, she definitely saw music as an escape but as time went by when away from Ruben, the lack of self harm was the hint that it was making things worse unknowingly. As much as she would love to do metal again, it would’ve put her back to square one. Ruben picked up on this when she started scratching herself again the moment he brought up the idea of it. And once he did, he felt it was best for her life to go on without him. After that, his annoyance was the distortion was what convinced him to embrace silence. When he takes off the implant and we hear nothing just like him, he feels content for the first time in his life which is something we all cherish at one point or another. Whatever he does after, I hope that feeling remains intact because life will only get harder once that feeling is lost. In short, Sound of Metal earns its Best Picture nominee for being a moving drama that inspires us to get out of your comfort zone. If you have Prime Video and prefer those kind of movies, check this out when you can.

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